Giorgia Meloni’s “mother of all reforms” is a power grab

ITALIAN POLITICIANS cannot resist changing the rules. Nearly every government in the past 20 years has tried to introduce a new electoral law, a constitutional reform or a change in the relationship between the centre and the regions. These projects gobble up parliamentary time and, in the case of constitutional reforms, rarely succeed. Any change to Italy’s post-Mussolini constitution of 1948 requires a two-thirds parliamentary majority, something no modern government has enjoyed. In the absence of that, the reform can be put to a referendum. If approved by voters, it can still be thrown out by the constitutional court.Undaunted, Giorgia Meloni’s wants to do all three things. A bill to give Italy’s regional governments greater powers is already creeping through parliament. And on November 3rd the prime minister announced “the mother of all reforms”: a bill that would both alter the constitution and require a new electoral law. Her cabinet had just approved her plan, though the details are sure to be amended when it is sent to parliament.