Efficacia. Fare o lasciar fare?

The chapter examines diffeences in political efficacy of left-wing versus right-wing oriented voters. Other psychological correlates, such as political interest, identification with a political leader, and uncertainty perception are also investigated. Data were collected in a survey on a representative sample of Italian population, within the ITANES programme. Results show that left-wing people have the highest level of political efficacy, while people refusing to place themselves on the left-right continuum have the lowest level. Besides, while a strong political interest supports political efficacy among left-wing people, identification with the leader supports efficacy among right-wing people. Finally, among people refusing to place themselves on the left-right continuum, reduced political efficacy seems to be the outcome of the high perceived uncertainty at individual and collective level.