from Craxi to Grillo, a story of clashes and bicamerals – Corriere.it

This text taken from the Prima Ora newsletter of Monday 8 May.

Well yes: it’s up to us (it’s up to us of the newspapers) and it touches you (it’s up to you readers) get used to one of the cyclical returns of Italian politics: the reform debate. It will be months, if not years, of necessary explanations on the various institutional systems, interviews with experts and politicians, analyzes and editorials. In the end, usually, nothing comes out of it, except dust and rubble. Each time, the proposing leader shows great attitude. This time too, with one difference: today’s leader has a combination of parliamentary strength and popularity with few precedents. Point by point:

How was it the other times? More or less, you try it once a decade and go on for bicameral commissions.

1) In the 1980s, he was the first to launch the theme of presidentialism Bettino Craxibut his Great Reform only the Italian Social Movement liked it. The Commission chaired in those years by Aldo Bozzi proposed in 1985, at the end of its work, a strengthening of the premier’s powers, with a vote of confidence expressed only to him and the power of revocation of the ministers.

2) In the early 90sthe driving force of constitutional revisionism was directly the President of the Republic Francis Cossiga. At his urging, the Commission chaired first by Ciriaco De Mita and then by Nilde Iotti was born: he proposed the election of the Prime Minister by Parliament and the possibility of dismissing him with the German mechanism of constructive distrust (he leaves if a new majority on another name). It was the swan song of the First Republic.

3) At the end of the 90s, he tried Massimo D’Alema. But its celebrated pact of the tart with the grand chamberlain of Berlusconi, Gianni Letta – semi-presidential system and two-round coalition electoral law – was thrown away by Berlusconi himself, who became chancellor and proportional.

4) In the 2000s, the Bicamerals went out of fashion, yielding to attempts to change the form of government with majority blows. In the first decade Berlusconi tried a couple of times, with as many defeats in the constitutional referendums. In 2016, he turned to Matthew Renzi see the attempt to abolish bicameralism and strengthen the powers of the premier crash against the popular will. The only successful constitutional reform was the grillina one, with the historic one reduction of MPs (from 630 to 400 deputies and from 315 to 200 senators) approved by the 2020 referendum.

And now what Giorgia Meloni wants?

The October 25 speech. Since taking office, the Prime Minister has made changing the form of government one of her priorities, with these words:

We are firmly convinced that Italy needs a constitutional reform in the presidential sense, which guarantees stability and restores centrality to popular sovereignty. A reform that makes it possible to move from an “interloquent democracy” to a “decisive democracy”. We want to start from the hypothesis of semi-presidentialism on the French model, which in the past had also obtained wide approval from the centre-left, but we remain open to other solutions as well. We want to discuss this with all the political forces present in Parliament, to achieve the best and most shared reform possible. But let it be clear that we will not give up on reforming Italy in the face of prejudicial oppositions. In that case we will act according to the mandate given to us on this issue by the Italians: to give Italy an institutional system in which whoever wins governs for five years and in the end is judged by the voters for what he has managed to do.


The invitation-convocation. Last week, Meloni proposed to the opposition to meet to talk about reforms. The meeting has been set for tomorrow, from 12.30 to 20, in the Chamber, in the President’s Library. There will be, from the smallest to the largest, representatives of +Europe, the Green Alliance and the left, Italia viva-Azione, 5 Stars and the Democratic Party. For the majority, in addition to the premier, the deputy premiers Salvini and Tajanithe Minister for Reforms Casellati, the Minister for Relations with Parliament Ciriani, the undersecretaries to the Prime Minister Mantovano and Fazzolari and the constitutionalist Francesco Saverio Marini.

What are the stakes of the opposition?

1) The Democratic Party brings together the secretariat today to decide how to show up for tomorrow’s key appointment, the face to face Meloni-Schlein, expected at 18.30. The fear already expressed that the initiative will prove not to be a moment of real confrontation, but only the umpteenth operation to divert attention from other issues, on which the government has made wicked choices. The Dems do not intend to endorse direct elections for the Chief Executive or the President of the Republic: yes, instead, the usual strengthening of the Prime Minister’s powers. Roberto Gressi wrote: At least for now, it is negotiating, or pretending to be negotiating. In the Schlein house we think like this: let’s go and listen, that there isn’t a clear proposal on the table.

2) The leader of the 5 Stars Giuseppe Conte he also says he is against the direct election of both the president of the republic and the premier, and in favor of strengthen the powers of the Prime Ministeron the German model. And he adds: With a head of government elected by the citizens, the head of state would become a figure who cuts the ribbons at ceremonies.

3) The former Third Pole, in theory dissolved (to be clear, Calenda and Renzi), the segment of the opposition with the most dialogue. Calenda says he knows a prime minister with more powers and a unicameral system, up to touching the figure of the president of the republic, the only point of reference recognized by all. Renzi has always stood for the mayor of Italy, a prime minister elected as in the Municipalities. Both must juggle the advantages of an opposition that proves constructive and the risks of being accused of intelligence with melonism.

And the cohesive majority? So so.

1) Brothers of Italy (heir of the presidential MSI) dreams of a form of direct election of the head of the executive which would lock Meloni in power. He needs it, however, also to compensate for the strengthening of regional autonomy that he is granting to the League: with great suffering, given his centralist vocation.

2) The League, for her part, is not a big fan of presidentialism. In a game of mirrors, you say you want it to support the Brothers of Italy and get votes for regional autonomy. The goal is to cash in on the favorite reform, which has already begun: the Technical-Scientific Committee on Performance Levels (Clep) is set up tomorrow, chaired by Sabino Cassese, who for Roberto Calderoli is a mini Constituent and in theory should untie one of the main knots of the reform dear to the League. The one dear to the brothers instead requires a much longer process, and in the meantime, the Salvinians calculate, anything can happen.

3) Forza presidential Italy. He is well aware that in the next few years he would mean surrendering to melonism, but the party’s anti-Melonians have by now been downsized.

But what are the real knots?

The real knots are precisely the reform of regional autonomy and the attempt by the centre-right to abolish ballots in municipal elections, who generally favor the centre-left, reunited in the second round by its voters in defiance of its leaders. For the Democratic Party, these are non-negotiable issues.

So what about tomorrow’s meeting?

It clearly starts uphill, in an atmosphere of mutual distrust in which no one really believes that a shared path can be started, but everyone wants to be able to say that they have tried, without denying themselves a meaningful face-to-face. The majority warns, with Tajani (and Calderoli), that if the opposition builds a wall, we will continue anyway, then there will be a referendum. The opposition tends to define the centre-right’s proposals as inadmissible.

A couple more political things…

1) The first is Carlo Cottarelli’s farewell to the Democratic Party: the economist will leave the senatorial seat and return to the academic world. He told Che tempo che fa: I respect Elly Schlein a lot and I think it is right to move the Democratic Party a little more to the left. But there are differences, such as the role of merit. In the Schlein motion the value of merit disappeared and was almost criticized. No temptation to switch to the third pole: It doesn’t seem right to me to change party, I was elected in the proportional system, the people did not vote for my name but for the party. A lesson for everyone.

2) The second is the Peronist turning point of Forza Italia. Peronist in what sense? In the ever more evident passage of leadership from the founding father to his partner. Marta Fascina, in concert with Berlusconi’s children, piloted the rapprochement with Meloni. Tajani was the first to want it, but his role as heir is struggling to emerge: in the video from the San Raffaele hospital, Berlusconi never mentioned him. Around the forced Evita, if anything, a quartet of young people can be glimpsed (as told by Tommaso Labate).