2023-05-09 17:22:22
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has opened talks with opposition parties to advance their plans for constitutional reform. The aim of the reforms is to put an end to the chronic political instability in Italy.
Although Italy has had almost 70 governments since World War II, more than twice as many as Britain and Germany, repeated attempts to create a more stable system have consistently failed.
Meloni for presidential system with direct election
Meloni, whose right-wing bloc won last September’s elections, said she was open to suggestions but made clear that she wanted a French-style presidential system with direct elections for a powerful head of state.
“I think it’s important to carry out such a constitutional reform with as broad a consensus as possible,” Meloni said at the start of Tuesday’s meeting with the opposition Five Star Movement. The head of the Five Stars, ex-Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, declared his willingness to set up a parliamentary commission to deal with constitutional reforms.
Any constitutional change will require a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Parliament – which is hard to imagine given the fragmentation of Italian politics. If this is not the case, each proposal must be voted on in a referendum. Italy recently pushed through a reform to reduce the size of the parliament from 945 to 600 members.
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