Italy closer to passing bill to change constitution substantially

The Italian Lower House passed a reform bill on Tuesday which could substantially amend Italy's constitution, impacting the role of the Upper House, the presidential elections, and the balance of power between central government and regional assemblies.

The bill passed the second of four parliamentary readings required for its final approval. Deputies approved with 357 votes in favor, 125 votes against, and seven abstentions.

The bill is seen as crucial in the reform agenda of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's cabinet, as it aims at simplifying legislative procedures, cutting the costs of the political machine and reducing political instability.

All major opposition parties opposed the project, however, for fear it would undermine the parliament and its power to keep the government in check.

The major constitutional change in the reform would put an end to Italy's current system of perfect bicameralism.

Under the proposed bill, the Senate would be stripped of its equal legislative status with the Lower House and become a non-elected assembly, losing its ability to vote the cabinet out of office, to vote on budget, or other major laws.

The reform would also amend the rules to elect the president. The head of state would still be voted by both house deputies and senators, but the regional representatives so far involved would be excluded.

Qualified majorities of two-thirds and three-fifths would be required up to the third and sixth rounds of the presidential election, whereas now it is up to the third round only. From the seventh round on, a simple majority would suffice.

The draft law would also abolishing the CNEL, an economic consultative body established in 1957, and modify rules regarding referendums to repeal an existing law and to propose new legislation.

The Senate approved the bill in August 2014, and the Lower House began discussing it in September. As deputies modified the text during the discussion, senators are now required to confirm these changes.

After this stage, two separate readings of the same text in each house are still required. The procedure is lengthy because the draft law aims at amending Italy's constitution. As such, a referendum may also be called after this procedure, but only in the event the bill is approved with two-thirds of the votes at the second readings in both houses. Endite