1. The provision of bar thresholds and the manner in which they are applied are, in fact, typical manifestations of the legislature's discretion to avoid the fragmentation of political representation and contribute to governability. This is a non-arbitrary aim, which the State legislature itself pursued with Article 7 of Law No 43 of 1995, where it provided for a barrier threshold regulation similar to the one complained of. Moreover, as regards the censured connection between the operation of the threshold and the electoral result of the Presidential candidate, it appears consistent with the form of regional government provided for by the Constitution for the case of the directly elected President, which enhances the bond that binds the Regional Council to the elected President by virtue of the principle of simul stabunt, simul cadent.
(The question of the constitutionality of Article 1, paragraph 30, letter d) of Lombardia Regional Law no. 17 of 31 October 2012 (Rules for the election of the Regional Council and the President of the Region), challenged in reference to Articles 3, 48, second paragraph, 51, 121, second paragraph, and 122 of the Constitution, in relation to Article 4, paragraph 2, of the Constitution, is not well founded, in relation to Article 4(1)(a) of Law No. 165 of 2004, insofar as it provides that, for the purposes of the distribution of seats, provincial lists whose group has obtained less than 3 per cent of the votes in the entire Region are excluded if they are not linked to a Presidential candidate who has obtained at least 5 per cent).
