Senate, the first articles of the electoral reform approved: the debate heats up

Work on the reform of the electoral law has resumed in the Senate. Article 1 of the reform was approved with 95 votes in favor and 54 against. Among the changes introduced, compared to the text voted in Montecitorio, the introduction of the preference mechanism with blocked leaders, the cancellation of the threshold for contributing to the prize and the increase in the number of subscriptions for parties not present in Parliament.

The Chamber instead rejected an amendment by the Democratic Party to the electoral law, signed by Andrea Giorgis, which proposed that the signatures necessary to run in the elections could be collected "also in digital mode using an electronic document, signed with a qualified electronic signature".

"I really don't think there will be any upheavals in the Chamber," said the Minister of Reforms, Elisabetta Casellati, replying to reporters who asked her in the Senate about the continuation of the examination of the text.

Ok to article 5, no signatures for those who have a group formed by 2025

The green light is also given to Article 5 of the reform which provides for exemption from the collection of signatures for those who have a group in at least one of the two Chambers on 31 December 2025. The oppositions' proposals for modification have been rejected. The Senate has now suspended the work which continues from article 6. The reform is made up of 9 articles and its examination will be concluded in the afternoon. The final vote is scheduled for tomorrow morning, the text, modified at Palazzo Madama, will then return to the Chamber.

Also ok to an amendment to the electoral law, signed by senators Meinhard Durnwalder and Julia Unterberger which again redesigns the constituencies of the province of Bolzano after the modification in this sense introduced in the Chamber. The two had alternatively proposed a suppression of the amendment introduced in the Chamber. "A cheating operation to favor the center-right candidates, the cards were changed while the game had not yet started", said Democratic Party senator Dario Parrini speaking in the Chamber.

Bonelli: 'We will oppose an unconstitutional law'

"Giorgia Meloni keeps Parliament busy on the electoral law while in Italy there are enormous problems: expensive energy, low salaries and public health in difficulty. It is a clash of power, or rather Meloni's attempt to exercise dominion over power. We will oppose it because, we reiterate, this law is unconstitutional". This was stated by Angelo Bonelli, AVS deputy and co-spokesperson for Green Europe, responding to journalists near the Senate.

"Meloni has forgotten where she comes from: she is no longer the underdog, today she is the point of reference of the banking and financial salons and certainly not of the people. She is not interested in the quality of our democracy and wants to change the structure of the State in a presidentialist way. We oppose it because Italy is a democracy". "When the measure returns to the Chamber, this bold and arrogant majority will place its trust and prevent any discussion. This is Giorgia Meloni's conception of the State and democracy: to command and protect only its interests".

Borghi (IV): 'It limits the autonomy of the head of state, it is against the Constitution'

"My colleague Malan explicitly said that with this electoral law the Prime Minister will be chosen. Article 92 of the Constitution states: 'the President of the Republic appoints the Prime Minister'. This law therefore limits the autonomy and responsibility of the Head of State. It is a fifth problem of a constitutional nature, after the four identified last week: the double blocked list, the size of the majority bonus in relation to the threshold, the failure to respect the Senate elected on a regional basis and the votes of the province of Trento which does not count for the bonus majority". Senator Enrico Borghi, vice president of Italia Viva, says this during the debate on the electoral law.

"If the majority had wanted to obtain this result, i.e. to directly elect the prime minister, they would have had to follow the main path, that is, modify the Constitution. The premiership was set aside due to internal disagreements on the right, and now they are surreptitiously trying to introduce it with an ordinary law. I therefore propose again - adds Borghi - a request that I consider indispensable: the majority must assume the responsibility of waiting for the ruling of the Constitutional Court before the law is made operational".