Electoral law: the majority in the Chamber of Deputies overcomes the hurdle of the preliminary motions

The majority has cleared the first hurdle on the electoral law. The Chamber of Deputies rejected the preliminary constitutionality motions by 229 votes to 151. The vote was by secret ballot.

“Passing this electoral law means ensuring stability and governability for whoever wins the next election. It is an act of responsibility towards the public, which the opposition should understand and support. And with the reintroduction of preferential voting – a long-standing cause championed by Noi Moderati – representativeness is also guaranteed: at last, citizens will be given back the power to genuinely choose their own MPs.” So says the leader of Noi Moderati, Maurizio Lupi.

“You are trampling on the Constitution and, through a rather despicable ploy, you are seeking to transform the parliamentary republic into something which, through the concentration of power, claims to go beyond the very logic of the presidential system.” This is the accusation levelled by Gianni Cuperlo, a PD MP, who spoke in the Chamber of Deputies to present the preliminary ruling on the constitutionality of the electoral reform. “By scrapping gender parity for list leaders,” Cuperlo emphasised, “there will be a decline in female representation in the future Parliament.” He then appealed to his female colleagues in the majority: “You are doing all this with the full blessing of the first female Prime Minister who, faced with a choice between promoting women and pleasing loyal men, chose the latter path.” Then there is the increase in the number of signatures required for lists not currently represented in Parliament: “You have quadrupled the number of signatures required, without providing any justification for this criterion.” And on preferential votes: “You are selling a first-class ticket on the latest-generation Frecciarossa, but the reality is that you have prepared an old railcar on the platform.” The vast majority of future MPs, he observed, “will be elected without a single preference vote”. Cuperlo also contested the new rules for Italians abroad: “You have devised a single global constituency – an absurd ‘world constituency’.”

Then came the attack on Meloni’s allies: “As for the others – and we say this with respect in this Chamber, and even look upon you with a touch of affection, members of the League and the liberals of Forza Italia – with Thanksgiving just round the corner, get ready to play the part of the turkeys.” According to the Democratic Party MP, the reform aims to create a system that favours the majority. “You did not want this constitutional mess to ensure the stability of future governments,” he said. “You have drafted, amended and rewritten this unacceptable text with a single objective in mind: to tailor the system to best suit the retention of that power.” Finally, he announced the battle that would follow the vote: “If this travesty of yours is approved – and right up to the very last moment we will do everything in our power to prevent it – know that from the very next day the battle will move outside these chambers.” “We will do so, including through dozens of legal challenges,” he added, “in defence of the secular ‘Bible’ of our democracy, in defence of the Republican Constitution.”