Prime Minister Meloni and president Mattarella Source: Quirinale / Wikimedia commonsThe changes in the constitution proposed by the Italian Government in November may be a breakthrough in the past of Italian democracy. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni identified proposals to introduce direct Prime Minister elections and warrant a parliamentary majority for the winning organization as "the parent of all reforms". Government opponents, on the another hand, recognise the proposed changes as an assassination on democracy. Will constitutional improvement solve Italy's problems? How can government action affect Italian democracy and relations with Brussels?
The Italian Republic is simply a country that has become a symbol of political chaos for many. Since the fall of the Fascist dictatorship, Benito Mussolini and the establishment of democracy in Italy, 68 governments have been created, each holding power for little than 2 years. The right-wing coalition government of the Italian Brothers, Liga and Forza Italia organization with Giorgia Meloni at the head of the organization recognises this as the main origin of the problems of the state, namely economical stagnation, low competitiveness and weak position of Italy in European politics. According to Meloni, the only way to change this situation is through the improvement of the Constitution – the “mother of all reforms”. The concept assumes that the Prime Minister would be elected by the general public in direct elections, and a organization with the highest number of votes won would have a warrant of 55% of seats in parliament.
One reform, many opinions
Government supporters argue that the Meloni government's proposals to amend the Constitution, approved in November, will strengthen the executive power in Italy, making it more effective. In addition, the proposed changes would end the phenomenon of method governments, created since the 1990s. At the time, quarreling political parties decided to support a cabinet composed wholly or partially of technocrats who were to regulation under the leadership of a non-Parliamentary Prime Minister until the crisis was resolved. 4 specified governments were formed in Italy's erstwhile history: Carlo Ciampi (1993-1994), Lamberto Dini (1995-1996), Mario Monti (2011-2013), and Mario Draghi's last cabinet ruling during the COVID-19 (2021-2022). The emergence of these governments is simply a consequence of the decay dominated by the chadeks and communists of the organization strategy of Italy in the early 1990s. This happened as a consequence of the USSR's defeat during the Cold War and corruption scandals, which caused a crucial part of the country's elite to vanish from the political scene. The organization fragmentation that began then in parliament prevented the construction of a unchangeable majority. According to the current right - hand ruler, the Italians deserve to be ruled by the politicians themselves, not technocrats.
Opponents of the Meloni government have a different view of the proposed amendments to the Italian Constitution. Supporters of center parties and leftist parties mention in their criticism to the fact that the Italian Constitution was established in 1947. Its creators, coming from the Chadetic and Communist opposition movement against the fascist government of Benito Mussolini, constructed the records of the current constitution in specified a way as to weaken the Prime Minister's political position and thus prevent Italy from emerging a fresh Duce, wishing to establish a dictatorship. At Meloni and her coalitions are accused of utilizing demagogue rhetoric to seize as much power as possible and concreteize the current organization system. The Prime Minister's proposal for direct elections is criticised as an assassination effort on the imagination of the founders of the Italian Constitution. The thought of guaranteeing 55% of seats in parliament for the winning organization by critics is compared to the introduction of the alleged Acerbo law in 1923. It guaranteed a winning organization of 2/3 seats in parliament and was a key minute in the transformation of Italy from democracy into a totalitarian dictatorship of the National Fascist Party.
The complex causes of Italian instability
The changes to the Italian Constitution proposed by the Meloni government are a controversial issue. Their implementation can change both the political situation in Italy and its relations with the European Union. Therefore, we have asked for comments from 2 experts in the field of contemporary political systems working at the Faculty of Political Sciences and Journalism of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań: Doctors Bartłomiej Secler and Marcin Łukaszewski.
We have asked experts whether the current provisions of the Italian Constitution are actually the origin of the instability of the Italian political scene.
– As for the reasons for this instability: as in socio-political phenomena, their background is complex, so is it in this case. If we were to look for the most crucial ones, it would most likely be: a circumstantial political culture and legal framework (including those indicated in the Constitution) – says Dr. Łukaszewski.
Dr. Secler stresses that Italy has been facing political, economical and migration problems for years. The inability of the state to respond effectively to these crises may be due to the shortcomings of the constitution. Dr. Secler, however, points out:
– another causes should besides be looked at. For example, many modifications to electoral ordination in terms of the electoral interest of a given electoral block or political party. Consequently, the electoral strategy was frequently incomprehensible, dysfunctional and "unsolvable rebus" made it hard to build a parliamentary majority capable of establishing a government.
It besides recalls that many of the erstwhile constitutional improvement proposals caused political unrest in Italy and provoked accusations of an assassination of democracy.
A threat to democracy and the EU?
We have asked researchers to find whether the reforms proposed by the Meloni government are a threat to Italian democracy. Dr. Secler emphasizes that the very nature of the Italian Brothers, the Meloni party, is the origin of distrust.
“Most often, the Italian Brothers are referred to as post-fascist, nationalist or Eurosceptic groups,” says Dr. Secler. "In turn, the organization itself is defined as a movement whose primary nonsubjective is to implement a political programme based on the principles of people's sovereignty, freedom, democracy, justice and social solidarity. Dr. Secler believes that introducing the changes proposed by the government will be very hard and there is no warrant of success. Dr. Łukaszewski, on the another hand, notes that the Prime Minister's direct elections have so far functioned in Israel, where they were abandoned after respective years due to the fact that they did not facilitate the formation of the government.
– Will this be the case for Italy? It is hard to say, due to the fact that while the level of political instability is akin in spite of appearances, this instability is already of a different nature," says Dr. Łukaszewski. – It is worth mentioning the specificity of the Italian system: the head of the government there was deliberately conceived as a moderately weak body to prevent a gathering in the hands of 1 individual besides much power.
Changes in the Italian strategy would surely affect the country's relations with the European Union. So we asked the experts if the proposed changes to the constitution could become a starting point for the dispute on the Rome-Brussels line. According to Dr. Łukaszewski, it is besides early to speculate on this. However, it notes that there are concerns about the infringement of the proposed reforms of European standards. Dr. Secler, in turn, stresses:
– Brussels has been paying close attention to the situation in Italy since the fall of Mario Draghi's government in 2022. The consequence of the early parliamentary elections and the course that Meloni would take as Prime Minister was besides feared.
It besides highlights Meloni's pragmatic policy towards the European Union and Italy's dependence on the financial issues of Brussels. According to Dr. Secler, Meloni will not decide to conflict with the Union.
The government's proposal to change the constitution can change Italy permanently. The Meloni Government's proposals have already become the subject of fierce political debate. Time will show whether Italy is going to heal or to relapse the authoritarian disease.
Oskar KMAK
