By a margin of just 1 vote (188 against and 187 in favor), the Italian parliament tonight rejected an amendment made by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's party, which would have allowed citizens to "select" up to 3 candidates on the electoral ballot. The amendment was presented as part of the procedures for the approval of the new electoral law promoted by the Italian conservative alliance.
Meloni's aim was to change the rules before the general elections, proposing a fully proportional electoral system, but with a "seat bonus" (premio di maggioranza) for the winning coalition to guarantee stability.
Immediately after the announcement of the vote result, opposition parties demanded the resignation of the government and the holding of early parliamentary elections. Leaders of the center-left Democratic Party, the Five Star Movement, the Italian Left and Greens and Italy Vivre organized a sit-in protest in front of Parliament, demanding that Meloni immediately meet with the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella and submit her resignation. According to estimates, more than 30 deputies of the governing coalition did not support the amendment, which was presented by the Italian prime minister's party.
"It's time to go home and give the country a government capable of solving the problems of the Italian people. Accept your failure and go home," said the secretary of the "Democrats", Elly Shlein. " Meloni wanted to go to a political showdown, she asked you to each take responsibility. You did it and voted against your prime minister. Now we are going to the elections", - added the former prime minister and president of the Five Star Movement, Giuseppe Conte.
In an online post, Meloni underlined: "The amendment was rejected by a margin of only 1 vote, but we did well to try. We tried to restore the preference crosses, after more than 30 years of ballots, in which you could only choose the party. We asked for today's vote to be open, so that everyone could take responsibility for their vote, but the opposition wanted it to be secret. The government majority was missing a few votes and this is something that needs political deepening. PS: The scenes of the opposition, which is celebrating as if it had won the World Cup, because it deprived citizens of the opportunity to elect their representatives in parliament, say it all."
According to analysts, this negative development for the government alliance consisting of the "Brothers of Italy", "Forza Italia" and the "Lega", could accelerate the holding of parliamentary elections, even in the fall. The current government has a mandate until October 2027. ©LAPSI.al
