The Italian Prime Minister, the far-right Giorgia Meloni, has pushed through this Thursday an electoral reform that will allow obtaining an absolute majority of seats without gathering a majority of votes. The Chamber of Deputies has definitively approved the text with 227 votes in favor and 164 against, amidst protests from an opposition that accuses the Government of changing the rules to favor its continuity in the 2027 elections.
The center-left has responded with signs saying "Scam Law" and "No to the mess" inside Parliament. The secret vote also did not provoke the internal rebellion that Meloni's adversaries expected, after several deputies from the governmental coalition overturned an amendment on electoral preferences in July. This time, the Prime Minister had warned her partners that the failure of the reform would open a government crisis.
The Executive presents the law, baptized by its supporters as 'Stabilicum' and by its critics as 'Melonellum', as a guarantee of stability. The explanation comes as Meloni already leads the longest-lasting Government of the Italian Republic, under the electoral system it now replaces. Her majority has closed the processing after resorting to three confidence votes to ensure the approval of the main articles.
Schlein and Conte denounce a tailor-made law
The secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), Elly Schlein, has accused Meloni of changing the rules with the electoral competition already underway. The progressive leader considers the reform misguided and unconstitutional and reproaches the Government for dedicating its efforts to protecting its future while families bear the rising cost of living. She has also defended that the left-wing alliance can defeat the right under the new conditions. "We will win with any electoral law," she affirmed.
The former Prime Minister and leader of the Five Star Movement (M5S), Giuseppe Conte, has placed the decision in the ruling coalition's "fear of losing." In his opinion, Meloni adapts the system to her electoral needs and the evolution of the polls. "All that's left is to establish that the majority bonus corresponds to a clear-eyed prime minister," he quipped about a rule he considers designed to prolong the power of the far-right leader.
Conte has also questioned the Executive's priorities. Faced with the discussion about percentages, positions on lists, and seats, he has demanded attention for the price of groceries, taxes, energy, and healthcare waiting lists. Angelo Bonelli, one of the leaders of the Green and Left Alliance (AVS), has also denounced that the Government neglects economic and social difficulties while concentrating its activity on the reform.
The protest extends to barriers to competition. The text raises the required signatures per constituency to 6,000 for new formations without parliamentary representation and maintains paper collection. Parties with parliamentary groups have exemptions, a difference that critics consider favorable to those who already hold seats and that hinders the entry of new competitors.
The leader of +Europa, Riccardo Magi, had started a hunger strike against the reform and its restrictions on participation. After Thursday's vote, he has suspended the fast and expressed his confidence in the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, while maintaining the will to fight the norm through legal channels.
Schlein and Conte have also denounced the setback in guarantees of female representation. The law partially restores preference voting, but the top candidates will continue to be chosen by the parties and will be excluded from the parity requirements provided for the rest of the candidacies. The first woman to become head of the Italian Government thus leaves in the hands of party leaderships a decision that can reduce the presence of other women in positions with the highest chances of obtaining a seat.
The 42% changes the accounts for the next elections
The core of the reform is a bonus of 70 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 35 in the Senate. It will be received by the most voted list or coalition if it wins and reaches at least 42% of the votes in both Chambers. These positions are reserved within the existing distribution, with 400 deputies and 200 elective senators. The mechanism allows reinforcing the representation of the winner to give it a majority to govern, even if a majority of electors have voted for other options.
The system replaces the 'Rosatellum', in force since 2017, and generally eliminates the districts in which a single candidate was elected. The distribution now has a proportional basis corrected by the majority bonus, with general thresholds of 3% for lists and 10% for coalitions. The rule sets a limit of 220 deputies and 113 senators for the beneficiary bloc, not counting their possible seats obtained abroad.
The promise of stability has a decisive condition. If no bloc reaches 42% in both Chambers, or if different alliances win, the bonus is not awarded and seats are distributed proportionally. The reform therefore maintains the possibility of a Parliament without a clear majority. Nor will there be a second round to resolve that scenario.
Alliances must identify the person they propose as prime minister before the elections. For the right, Meloni retains that leadership. For the center-left, the requirement forces them to resolve the dispute between Schlein and Conte first, who still need to agree on who would lead the shared project. The PD, the M5S, and AVS are working on the so-called 'Campo Largo', a progressive alliance whose ability to add up also depends on how it resolves the leadership and participation of other forces.
The reform favors grouped candidacies, but the bonus could also benefit an opposition that manages to present itself united and overcome the threshold. The left now faces the task of converting inter-party cooperation into a candidacy capable of gathering its votes. The procedure for choosing the aspirant, through an agreement or primaries, is still part of the negotiation.
Meloni's calculations have been complicated by the rise of the far-right former general Roberto Vannacci and his party, Futuro Nazionale. If he runs outside the governmental coalition, he can subtract decisive votes from Brothers of Italy, the League, and Forza Italia and prevent them from reaching 42%. His possible incorporation into Meloni's bloc would again alter the calculations. The prime minister has to face that competition within the right itself while the possibility of an early election in the spring of 2027 grows, still without a decided call.
The opposition is also preparing the battle over the constitutional fit of the text. One of the questioned points is the national prize of seats in a Senate that the Constitution establishes on a regional basis. Another is the obligation to announce the candidate for prime minister, which critics relate to Meloni's attempt to strengthen the head of government. The designation still corresponds to the President of the Republic and the name proposed by the parties is not binding.
After the last parliamentary vote, the text must go through the promulgation of Sergio Mattarella and its official publication. Opponents are preparing legal actions with which they intend to bring the controversial aspects before the Constitutional Court before the next elections.
