The Italian Parliament approves the controversial Meloni reform that changes the electoral rules

RomeWith 227 votes in favor and 164 against, Italy's Chamber of Deputies gave the green light this Thursday to a new electoral law promoted by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which changes the rules of the game just a few months before Italians go to the polls in 2027. The new electoral law seeks to ensure absolute majorities through the introduction of a package of additional seats for the most-voted party or coalition, thus allowing the future government to choose the next President of the Republic without having to reach an agreement with the rest of the political forces, as had been done until now.

The main novelty of the text is the elimination of single-member constituencies, in which until now the most-voted candidate was elected, in favor of a proportional system that favors the formation of coalitions. In a country that has accumulated 68 governments in 80 years, according to the executive—which has an absolute majority in both chambers of Parliament—the goal is to guarantee the stability of future executives through a mechanism that grants 70 additional deputies and 35 senators to the coalition that obtains at least 42% of the votes. If no list reaches this figure, the distribution of seats would be proportional.

A "governability" prize that will allow the winning coalition to choose the next President of the Republic without having to reach an agreement with the other parties, as has been done historically, since the executive that emerges from the polls next year will have enough of a majority to elect the successor to the current head of state, Sergio Mattarella, whose term ends in 2029. A democratic anomaly that the opposition considers unconstitutional and that will have to be resolved in the courts.

"There is this subtle but persistent nostalgia for the twenty years of fascism that still inspires you. For you, democracy in its modern version is a covert illiberal regime, an autocracy," denounced former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, leader of the Five Star Movement, who accused the executive of approving the reform for "fear of losing" the next elections. For her part, the leader of the Democratic Party (PD), Elly Schlein, described the reform as a "scam" and criticized the government for intending to "change the rules of the game and the laws with the match already underway."

Meanwhile, Riccardo Magi, secretary of the opposition party +Europe, who has been on a hunger strike for a week, has criticized the reform because it quadruples the number of signatures that each party must collect in each constituency to be able to run in the elections, a measure that will exclude smaller political parties from Parliament.

Another of the most controversial aspects is the structure of the electoral lists. The new law restores a system of blocked list leaders combined with the option for voters to express preferences for other candidates, a formula that had caused disagreements among government partners during the negotiations.

The opposition also questions the use the government has made of a motion of confidence to push the reform forward. This has been a strategy with which Meloni has tried to prevent the so-calledsnipers —as deputies who vote against their party's instructions are known in Italy— from coming into play, after several senators from the League and Forza Italia —partners of Brothers of Italy in the governing coalition— voted against various amendments in July, during the passage of the bill in the Senate, taking advantage of the secret ballot.

The reform has been named Stabilicum and represents a political victory for Meloni, who has thus managed to rally with her allies after the recent tensions. "To those who hoped to see the center-right divided, today we respond with action: we are united, united in purpose and determined to fulfill the commitments we have made to the citizenry," said the prime minister, who had threatened to resign if the Chamber of Deputies rejected the bill.

Doubts about the progressive coalition

The electoral law, passed a few months before the elections and without parliamentary debate, arrives at the worst possible moment for the opposition, which is racing against the clock to build a progressive coalition, but which could ultimately prove to be a double-edged sword for the leader of Brothers of Italy.

When it was first proposed, the right-wing bloc easily reached the 42 percent threshold. But that was before the appearance of National Future, the far-right party led by former general Roberto Vannacci which, according to the latest polls, would be essential to guarantee Meloni's re-election. The problem is that neither Forza Italia nor the League—where Vannacci began his political career—are willing to open the doors of the coalition to the controversial military figure.

The reform of the electoral law was one of the promises with which the right-wing bloc presented itself united in the 2022 elections, and its approval was essential to guarantee the stability of the current coalition, especially after the government failed to push forward any of the initiatives included in its program during the legislature, such as the direct election of the prime minister or the judicial reform.