Italy's controversial Senate reform to depend on whether PM can count on support from his own party

Opponents to Matteo Renzi's much-debated Senate reform plan have taken the unusual step of introducing millions of computer-generated amendments in the latest effort to slow or stall the plan.

But experts say it is still likely to enter into force - eventually - as long as Renzi can keep his own party in line.

In what might be the most controversial of the prime minister's lengthy list of reform initiatives, the Senate proposal is aimed at saving money, speeding up the legislative process, and improving political stability.

It would dramatically reduce the size and influence of parliament's upper house, with an unpaid membership made up of locally appointed representatives and notable national figures.

Critics of the plan say it could make the legislative process to fast, making it more likely poorly-thought-out proposals could become law, and it would increase the power of the prime minister without providing for the checks and balances inherent in presidential systems.

Opposition to the proposal has grown so desperate that one junior opposition party, the Northern league, introduced a head-spinning 82 million amendments to the bill, generated by a computer program. The amendments won't all be debated and most will not even bear the signature of a sponsoring lawmaker - signing that many amendments at the rate of one per second, 24 hours per day, would still take around 2.5 years - but having them dismissed will add more time to the process.

Still, expert observers say the measure is still likely to make it through the legislature - as long as Renzi can count on the support from the majority of his coalition.

"The idea of reforming the role of the Senate has merit, but there are flaws in this particular plan," Gino Scaccia, a law professor at Rome's LUISS University, told Xinhua. "There's opposition to it, but if Renzi can keep his party in line that will probably be enough."

Renzi's political party has a slim eight-seat majority in the 320-member Senate, where a majority of votes will be required to pass the reform. But there is a small but vocal opposition within Renzi's own party, and if it grows too large and is not offset with support from other groups, it could put the future of the proposal in jeopardy.

According to Gian Franco Gallo, a political affairs analyst with Milan's ABS Securities, the stakes are probably too high for Renzi to allow the proposal to fail.

"This has been one of Renzi's main reform proposals ever since he took office," Gallo said in an interview. "The prime minister has built a reputation as a reformer, and that would be severely damaged if one of his main reforms was rejected. I predict he'll find a way."

Scaccia said the reform proposal would likely emerge from parliament in the second half of October. Assuming it's successful in parliament, there will be a three-month waiting period where a request for a national referendum could be filed.

"The parliamentary debate is the big obstacle, but there's still a long road ahead," Gallo said. Endit