Esecutivi locali e legittimazione democratica nel diritto comparato

The essay, starting from the Italian debates on the direct election of the mayor and its possible transposition on a national scale, compares a number of European constitutional systems to verify how the democratic legitimacy of municipal executives is shaped. This also calls for an examination of the inter-organic relations between mayor and council, as well as the relationship between the electoral moments affecting the former and the latter. This analysis provides an opportunity to discuss the Italian model, which stands out, in the comparative panorama, for making the council election an emanation of the monocratic one.