«Preferences, in voting for Parliament, had been missing since 1993, that is, for almost 35 years. Today they return because the center-right has chosen to reintroduce them, on the proposal of the Brothers of Italy." And again: «To the left, which today claims that it is not enough, I must remind you that those who have never wanted them in these 35 years and voted to reject them even a month ago are not credible on this issue. So the difference is not between those who want more preferences and those who want fewer. It's between those who have put them back into law and those who haven't."
In the end, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni decides to show her face and tries to direct the majority's narrative on "her" electoral reform. Even if the center-right preferences - rejected in July by the Chamber in the shadow of the secret vote and approved yesterday by the Senate with 91 yes, 67 no and 2 abstentions - are preferences with the list leaders blocked, therefore valid only from the second on the list downwards (the voter will be able to give three preferences by marking the crosses next to the names and the gender alternation will only be valid starting from the second on the list). A solution that ultimately satisfies Lega and Forza Italia, which have always been against preferences: the medium-small parties, in fact, will almost only elect the blocked list leaders who will be chosen by the leaders (according to a YouTrend simulation for a list that stands at around 10% of the votes the share of those elected with preferences is marginal, around 5%). In the end, it will be above all the big party candidates, namely the Brothers of Italy and the Pd, who will fight for preferences. Overall, the number of people elected from the parties with the preferences, also taking into account the possibility of multiple candidatures, should amount to one third.
However, the political result for Meloni is there, and it is that of having reunited the majority on a crucial amendment. For the rest it goes as it should go: the trap set up by the Democratic Party with the presentation of a sub-amendment for the introduction of free preferences for all, after having put the Fratelli d'Italia senators who have always been in favor for hours in difficulty, does not trigger because it cannot be triggered. Under penalty of scuppering the entire electoral reform and a consequent government crisis.
So the executive defers to the Chamber to avoid a blatant no to the "real" preferences and the burden of taking on the responsibility of keeping faith with the majority agreement on preferences with blocked list leaders is left to the parties, i.e. the prime minister's party: «The center-right senators will vote in a compact manner in favor of amendment 1.6 first signed by Lisei (Fdi) on the preferences with blocked list leaders and will say no to the 1.6/1 modification proposal presented by the opposition which eliminates the blocked list leader and inserts two preference votes". Hence the obvious accusations from the opposition ("Meloni loses face and says no to real preferences, that is for everyone, falling back on fake preferences", dem senator Dario Parrini says for everyone), with the consequent response from the prime minister.
But if the outcome seemed obvious from the start, why did Fratelli d'Italia let the intention to vote in favor of the sub-amendment of the Democratic Party leak for hours, causing the Azzurri and Northern League members to raise their shields? In the corridors of Palazzo Madama, it is the Azzurri and Northern League supporters who give a possible explanation: in exchange for the apparent reverse, the "brothers" obtained the green light from Forza Italia to cancel the so-called anti-bushes law. In fact, a green light for the so-called "owl lists" that are being thought of in the Melonian house both in an anti-Vannacci function (such as the Italian Future or the Future of the Nation) and in an all-out vote-catching function: all the lists, even those below the threshold of 3%, will bring votes that will supplement those of the coalition for the purposes of the prize.
