Silvia Bolgherini is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Perugia, Italy. Her research interests include electoral studies, comparative political systems and local government. She has published widely on these topics in international journals and is a co-author of Germany after the Grand Coalition: Governance and Politics in a Turbulent Environment (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010).Selena Grimaldi is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Macerata, Italy. Her research interests include presidential studies, electoral studies, comparative political systems and local elites. She is the author of The Informal Powers of Western European Presidents: A Way out of Weakness? (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023).Aldo Paparo is Assistant Professor at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Florence, Italy. His main research interests are elections and voting behaviour, with a particular focus on the local level. His research has appeared in Political Psychology, West European Politics, Electoral Studies, South European Society and Politics, Local Government Studies and Italian Political Science Review.