The XVII legislature officially began with the swearing-in of the regional councilors, the president of the Region Alessandra Todde and the twelve councilors of the Council . The oldest elected member, Lorenzo Cozzolino (Psi), presides over the session.
«For the first time a woman has been elected president of our Region - she recalled - I hope first of all for a mutual and constant collaboration between the Regional Council and this Assembly , with fruitful discussions aimed at implementing the legislative responses necessary to satisfy the expectations of the Sardinians and to thus defeat the mistrust of the many citizens who no longer go to vote". For Cozzolino «we must restore the Sardinians' trust, meaning and value to the constitutional right to express their will during elections by casting their vote. We must demonstrate that this Assembly is the home of democracy and participation."
The socialist exponent underlined the need to «open the doors of the palace but above all open our ears to be able to listen to the real needs and to be able to construct the necessary laws later, with rationality» . This is why we must "humanize the government's action, placing the person and their intangible values at the center of the performance of the public function, it will constitute a first valid signal of the return of politics that is close and attentive to the needs of citizens". A passage on young people: «We need to trust our young people. They have many gifts and abilities that we adults, unfortunately, do not know how to recognize and appreciate. We must not consider them as passive subjects, but true protagonists of their own growth in an authentic educational relationship: they are our future."
The centre-left majority chose not to vote in the first call for the election of the new president of the Regional Council . Nothing happened even in the second call . These are the details of the two votes: first vote Piero Comandini 3, Antonello Peru 2, 21 blanks, 1 void, 33 abstentions. Second vote Peru 6, Cozzolino 1, 14 blank ballots, 32 abstentions
In the third vote (with a simple majority) Piero Comandini , secretary of the Democratic Party, was elected president of the Regional Council with 42 votes . Antonello Peru 1 vote, 16 blank, 1 nothing.
Applause from the chamber for the new president , who obtained 6 votes more than those available to the centre-left majority .
«We are privileged», said Comandini, «because we can design the future of Sardinia. This is an important, constituent phase: let's all fly high."
