Italy's Chamber Passes Meloni Electoral Reform: Full Proportional System Returns With Majority Bonus Above 42%
ROME — Italy's Chamber of Deputies on Thursday, October 8 adopted Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's new electoral law by 227 votes to 164, in a secret ballot. Meloni had made the reform one of the key measures of her term, and she now turns to the general election due by October 2027, in which she hopes to win a second term.
The law reinstates full proportional representation, which Italy abolished following a 1993 referendum, when voters opted for a majority system in the wake of corruption scandals affecting both right and left. Dubbed the 'Melonellum' by its critics, the law introduces a majority bonus: any political coalition that surpasses 42% of the vote in the legislative elections will be awarded an additional quota of 70 deputies and 35 senators, a measure designed to ensure the winner a solid grip on parliament. The Chamber has 400 seats and the Senate 200.
The path to passage was not smooth. On July 14, deputies rejected a government amendment in a secret ballot, with some votes against coming from within Meloni's own majority. The text was then modified and adopted by the Senate on September 15, before clearing the Chamber on October 8. Meloni said on social media shortly after the vote that the centre-right was united, cohesive and determined to carry forward its commitments to citizens.
Opposition members brandished signs in the chamber denouncing the law, calling its adoption another move to consolidate the power of Meloni's Brothers of Italy party. Chiara Braga, chair of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) parliamentary group, accused the government of seeking to concentrate power. The opposition has announced it will challenge the new law before the Constitutional Court, which in 2013 already invalidated a majority bonus provided for in previous legislation. Lorenzo Castellani, professor of institutional history at Luiss Guido Carli University in Rome, said the new law encourages coalitions to expand ahead of elections.
Reaching the bonus threshold is not guaranteed. According to a poll published on October 8 by the Youtrend institute, Brothers of Italy and its allies — the League and Forza Italia — would not currently reach 42%. The next election could take place in spring 2027. Meloni, four years at the country's helm, has already set a longevity record for the role in the history of the Italian Republic.
Source: Le Monde, Rome, October 9.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 罗马蒙特奇托里奥宫内的众议院议事厅，Palazzo del Quirinale 提供，Attribution（Wikimedia Commons）
