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[Italy] Meloni’s dangerous constitutional change in Italy (www.politico.eu)

submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

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[Note: trying out /c/politics’ new international politics focus]

The Italian prime minister’s calculation isn’t hard to understand — her party has a comfortable lead in the polls, but it’s far from an overwhelming majority.

The optics are terrible: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has made proposals for constitutional reform that are eerily reminiscent of another constitutional change made a century ago by Benito Mussolini.

Adopted in November 1923, Mussolini’s notorious Acerbo Law established that the party winning the largest share of the vote — even if only 25 percent — would get two-thirds of the seats in parliament. And after his party won the subsequent election — although intimidation and violence proved more important there than tampering with electoral law — the road to dictatorship was paved.

Meloni’s current proposal now echoes this Acerbo Law, as the Italian leader wants to automatically give the party with the highest percentage of votes a 55 percent share of the seats in parliament. In other words, as long as one party receives more votes than any other — even if that were, say, 20 percent of the national vote — it will be rewarded with outright parliamentary control.

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[-] acupofcoffee@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago

It’s poorly worded, but look at their link which shows Poland’s election. It will make more sense. The party only received 35% of the votes (the rest of the votes going to opposing parties), but they’d suddenly own 55% of the seats due to this system.

[-] vividspecter@lemm.ee 2 points 11 months ago

Similarly, if the Netherlands had the same system, the far-right Party for Freedom would have 55% of the seats despite only winning 24% of the vote. A scary thought.

[-] sramder@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

I’m on board now. Law and Justice had the largest single share at 35% and would thus receive 55% control of parliament under Italy’s proposed system, but with 52% of the population preferring a different mix of leadership.

this post was submitted on 30 Dec 2023

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