Italy's Meloni suffers parliamentary defeat on election law reform
A secret ballot let about 30 coalition lawmakers defect, exposing divisions over a reform Meloni says would deliver more stable government.
- On Tuesday, the Chamber of Deputies rejected a key electoral reform amendment by a 188-187 vote, dealing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni her second parliamentary defeat this year.
- The amendment concerned whether future elections should allow voters to use 'preference' votes to name individual candidates on party lists; opposition MPs won a secret ballot request, freeing coalition members to defy the government.
- Around 31 coalition lawmakers defied the government line, provoking anger from Meloni, who wrote on Facebook that 'the swamp has won again,' a phrase she uses for entrenched bureaucratic resistance.
- Although government sources reported Meloni signaled readiness to 'go to the Quirinale' and resign, aides ruled this out, citing 'the responsibility of governing the country' as reason to stay.
- Former prime minister Matteo Renzi claimed 'the majority no longer exists' after the vote, yet the government vowed to press ahead with electoral reform to ensure stability before the 2027 election.
86 Articles
86 Articles
After almost four years, the head of government has for the first time lost control of her own camp in parliament. The background is a dispute over the new right to vote: Is it soon over with political stability in Italy?
The MP: "On the reform must stop"
Kreiszeitung
Vote-crime in Italy: Head of Government Meloni must take a defeat. The opposition attacks sharply.
In fact, the head of government wanted to cement her power with a new electoral law, but her own allies slowed her down: apparently the women rebelled. This second slump in just a few months announces a tough election campaign.
DECRYPTAGE - After failing in its reform of the justice system, the President of the Council fails to correct the electoral law.
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