Italy's Renzi gives final push to constitutional reform bill

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Monday that the constitutional reform bill is a historic step, as it will deeply reshape Italy's political profile and streamline the law-making process.

Addressing the Chamber of Deputies, Renzi said "this is an extraordinary passage for our country," giving a final push to the constitutional draft law, which is about to go through its sixth and possible last reading.

If approved, the draft law will indeed change the Italian constitutional structure deeply, primarily by putting an end to the current "perfect bicameralism" system after more than six decades.

The senate will be demoted into an assembly in charge of regional affairs, and lose its equal law-making status with the lower house in an effort to streamline legislative proceedings.

It will also be stripped of its power to bring down the cabinet and vote on budget laws, but will retain its prerogatives on constitutional and electoral legislation, and European treaties.

Its seats will be cut to 100 from the current 315, and future senators selected among members of regional assemblies and mayors, according to the preferences expressed by citizens in local ballots.

Among other major changes, the reform will amend the rules for electing the president of the Italian Republic.

It will also alter the power balance between the state and local authorities, granting the central government more prerogatives in key sectors such as energy, major infrastructure, and transport routes.

All opposition parties left the assembly ahead of Renzi's speech in protest against the reform, including center-right Forza Italia, party of former Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who had supported the bill at the beginning.

Once again, Renzi staked his political future on the positive result of the draft law, recalling that he took office in February 2014 with the declared goal of implementing a broad reform agenda.

"If the most important of these reforms does not pass, it would be a matter of (political) seriousness to take note of it," the prime minister told the assembly.

"I put everything on the line with the referendum," Renzi also told reporters before addressing the lawmakers, Ansa News Agency reported.

"The crucial point is to win, no matter by what percentage (of votes)," he added.

The reform was expected to receive the final vote in the lower house on Tuesday or Wednesday, and an approval was most likely, since the cabinet can count on a wide majority of seats there.

Then, it will face a national referendum in order to be confirmed or rejected by voters, as requested by the constitution. The referendum might be held in October, according to officials.

Renzi has already made it clear in December that he would resign if the constitutional overhaul fails to be confirmed in the referendum.

Combined with a new electoral law approved in 2015, the cabinet believed the reform would make Italy easier to govern and help overcome the country's long-standing political instability.

However, the opposition forces, including some members within Renzi's own Democratic Party, argued it would instead undermine Italy's democracy by giving the cabinet too much power at the expense of the parliament and local authorities.

The proposed reform is facing a complex approval process, entailing two readings in each chamber of parliament, with qualified majorities and in identical text, as required for all laws aimed at amending Italy's constitution.

The bill was first presented to the senate in April 2014. Endi