Italien: Melonis neues Wahlrecht nimmt im Parlament letzte Hürde

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's controversial new voting system has cleared the final parliamentary hurdle in Rome. The ruling coalition of three right-wing and conservative parties, which holds a majority, approved the new voting system. Out of 391 deputies, 227 voted in favor, while 164 opposed. The Senate, the second chamber of Parliament, had already approved the plan in mid-September.

Meloni's government had also passed three confidence votes on the issue, all with a clear majority. The decisive final vote had been anticipated with tension. The right-wing politician had made the vote a litmus test for her government, claiming that a failure would have consequences. The confidence votes on individual articles took place by roll call on Tuesday and Wednesday, while the final vote was secret.

The opposition had hoped for defections from within the coalition. In the event of failure, new elections were considered the most likely scenario. Meloni aims to implement the reform, giving the winner of a parliamentary election a majority bonus if they secure 42 percent of the votes. This would result in an additional 70 seats for a new coalition in the lower house and 35 seats in the Senate.

So, a narrow electoral victory could turn into a comfortable majority. The opposition criticizes the plan as a targeted advantage-grabbing for Meloni's coalition.