A one-two that increases the opposition’s suspicions about the real motivations of the government and majority: first the relaunch of the need to modify the electoral law on the same evening as the outcome of the vote in Campania, Puglia and Veneto, then the request to schedule the premiership in the Chamber for January, which has been on standby in the Chamber commission for over a year.
For the centre-left, the “double move” of the centre-right actually hides the fear of losing in the political elections and the risk of seeing Giorgia Meloni’s cherished objective of “the lone woman in command” disappear.
What reignited the clash over the reforms was the request, made in the conference of the group leaders of the Chamber by the government, through the voice of the undersecretary Matilde Siracusano, to evaluate the inclusion of the premiership in the calendar of the Chamber’s work in January. A timing that makes the center-left suspicious and the Democratic Party rises up: «The effects of the results of the regional elections, the real shock, arrive in Parliament.
Yesterday the League, thanks to its success in Veneto, blocked the law on consent in sexual violence, today Tajani stops the possibility of the prime minister’s name being on the lists in the new electoral law. So the Brothers of Italy immediately make themselves heard, claim the leadership and come back to propose the premiership again”, accuses the dem group leader Chiara Braga, according to whom “now it’s up to Meloni to collect the prize for the power pact that keeps them glued to the government even with very strong differences”, she insists, promising battle.
From the government, however, they let it be known that there is no acceleration on the premiership. Moreover, it is noted, it has already happened in recent months that the executive requested the inclusion of the reform in the quarterly planning of work, specifying the formula “where the work in the commission is concluded”. In short, the government emphasizes that there is nothing new. And also from FdI in the Chamber it is explained that the reform is unlikely to be ready in January. This does not mean that the majority and the executive have given up on the reform, “the mother of all reforms”, as the prime minister herself has always defined it. The president of the Senate, Ignazio La Russa, intervenes on the timing and, at the presentation of Vespa’s book, explains: «The time» to approve the reform in this legislature «is there but it is a political choice that belongs to the majority. The problem is political choice”, observes the second state official. And that the objective remains to implement the reform by 2027 is confirmed by undersecretary Giovanbattista Fazzolari: «The premiership will be completed and then it will be subjected to the judgment of the Italians».
As for the electoral law, for Fazzolari it would be right to “imagine a law already suitable for the reform of the premiership. We will complete the premiership within the legislature, the referendum will take place in the next legislature, at which point it would be good to have the electoral law in place beforehand which reflects the one adopted with the form of the premiership.” The undersecretary then confirms the hypotheses in the field: «The system that exists for mayors or for regions where the voter knows who will lead the government and which coalition supports him is the model to follow. A proportional system with a majority bonus and indication from the Prime Minister is the most transparent way to interest those who are not involved in politics.” Finally, for Fazzolari «dialogue with the opposition is important. We hope that they too will want to imagine a law that will last over time and should be chosen regardless of who might benefit from it today.” However, at least at the moment, the hope seems destined to fall on deaf ears.
The centre-left, in fact, has already raised walls, claiming not only that “electoral reform is not a priority”. But also that the majority and the government want to change the Rosatellum because “they have understood that they can lose”. La Russa also shares the need to intervene on the voting system: «Many say that there is a risk of a tie in the Senate. A reform must be designed not to benefit anyone but must be designed to prevent Italy from once again finding itself in a situation of stalemate, of balance, which causes damage to citizens. An electoral law, which I hope is bipartisan, must think of the citizens and avoid stalemate or tie”, he maintains. But it is precisely the one-two that alerts the opposition: «The combination between the premiership and the Meloncellum electoral law, that is, a Porcellum in Melonian sauce, is the antechamber of the full powers that Giorgia Meloni would like so much», warns the secretary of Più Europa Riccardo Magi.
And the M5s leader Giuseppe Conte offers advice to the centre-right «Don’t let anxiety dictate political initiatives. Nor can they think of bringing the premiership back through the window after being scared when they presented it in front of the main door. Furthermore – he notes – it doesn’t seem to me that they agree internally.” The League seems to be leaving the debate out of the debate. In fact, Salvini displays indifference on the topic: “It’s one of the things I’m least passionate about,” he says, then adding that “the important thing is to strengthen the bond of the elected representative with the territory.” The other deputy prime minister, Antonio Tajani, is convinced of the need to change the voting system: «We are thinking of a proportional system with a majority bonus. It allows governability and also the expression and representation of all forces.”