Majority working to revise the most critical points of the bill on the premiership, after the summit with the center-right group leaders which took place in the Senate in the presence of ministers Casellati (Reforms) and Ciriani (Relations with Parliament). Next week a draft proposal will be presented to try to resolve all the issues on the table: if there is agreement within the coalition, the majority amendments will be filed by January 29th, which should not be more than 8.
“Given the doubts about some issues raised by almost all the 50 constitutionalists heard by the Commission, it seemed right to me to organize a majority discussion to understand how to proceed. We are talking about a government-initiated bill, the Prime Minister defined it as the mother of all the reforms”, explains the president of the Constitutional Affairs Commission of Palazzo Madama, Alberto Balboni, a member of the Brothers of Italy, to Adnkronos. First of all, the method was discussed: “Any, and I underline any, proposed modifications must be presented exclusively in the name of the entire majority” therefore “no escapes forward by this or that party”, assures the Melonian, who adds: “There will be only shared proposals, limited to the spirit of this reform which touches very few aspects. We want it to be a surgical intervention, which does not concern too many articles of the Constitution”.
The knots on the table
During Thursday's meeting at Palazzo Madama, the critical points highlighted by the experts were discussed: “We questioned the opportunity of including a 55% majority premium in the Constitution”, observes Balboni. One of the topics debated “was that of the second prime minister: as it is formulated, this rule can determine the possibility of a dissolution of the Chambers which not even the first prime minister has”. “Another delicate issue is trust: how is it possible that a prime minister elected directly by the voters has to pass through a vote of confidence in the Chambers? It's a paradox…”. And again: “Many from the opposition have raised the issue of limits on mandates: in all democracies there are limits to the number of consecutive mandates, even the prime minister said that this objection is reasonable. And therefore we should also ask ourselves about this aspect” .
The road map
So how can we untie these knots? Balboni outlines a road map: “First of all, a discussion will be needed with the top of the government and with the majority groups. We have represented this desire for discussion to Ciriani and Casellati. In the meantime, on the proposal of the president Marcello Pera who is part of the Commission, we have decided to begin putting pen to paper on a draft proposal to work on. We will present alternative proposals on the issues raised between this weekend and the beginning of next week. Then we will submit this draft to the majority members of the Commission: if there is an agreement , we will submit it to the ministers and, through them, to the government. If we find the right solution, we will file the amendments by January 29th, which will be few and selective.” How many? “In my humble opinion no more than 5 or 6, exaggerating 7 or 8”.
In detail, how will you intervene on the critical issues highlighted by constitutionalists? “There is unanimity both in the majority and in the opposition on the fact that the majority bonus cannot be quantified in the Constitution, it must be delegated to the electoral law which will also define the minimum threshold, which as we know the Constitutional Court requires to be fixed in a reasonable percentage.” According to the Fdi senator “we could think about a threshold of 40% to trigger the majority bonus: but mine is a personal reflection, we have not yet gone into the details”.
Second prime minister
And on the issue of the second prime minister? “There are various hypotheses in the field. For example, the figure of the second prime minister could be completely eliminated, the principle of 'simul stabunt simul cadent' reinstated (that is, if the prime minister in office falls, we go to the vote, ed.). And how a further hypothesis is to limit the appointment of a second prime minister to exceptional cases such as physical impediment or death of the elected prime minister”, states the Fdi president of Constitutional Affairs. And to those who complain about a limitation of the powers of the Head of State in appointing the prime minister, Balboni replies: “The President of the Republic does not have the right to indicate another prime minister, the President must verify whether there is a majority in Parliament. He does not indicate who he wants to. He must certify the existence of a majority, he must ask for it to be demonstrated to him before conferring an office. It is not a discretionary choice. We try to ensure that we do not find ourselves faced with these crisis situations”.
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