This archive report was first published on 8 October 2019.
Italy's Five Star Movement, in coalition with the centre-left, has made a significant promise to voters: to cut the number of lawmakers by 345. This move aims to tackle political elitism and wasteful spending.
Currently, Italy has the second-highest number of lawmakers in the EU, with 630 elected representatives in the lower house and 315 in the Senate. The proposed constitutional reform would reduce the number of MPs to 400 and senators to 200 from the next legislature.
According to legal expert Guido Neppi Modona, the reform is 'well-balanced' and would lead parties to 'take particular care in choosing candidates.'
However, critics have warned that the cut could affect popular representation and increase the influence of lobbyists over governing institutions, all for a minimal saving that will have little effect on debt-laden Italy's book balance.
Italy has attempted to cut its number of lawmakers eight times since 1983, but this time it is broadly expected to be successful, with most opposition parties on board.
Matteo Salvini, the head of Italy's far-right League, has warned that his party would wait to see if the law was 'mere horse trading.'
The Five Star Movement made the cut a condition of its alliance with the centre-left Democratic Party, following the collapse of the previous, far-right coalition in August.
The party has insisted that the cut be followed by a new electoral law, and is pushing for the reintroduction of a proportional representation system.
Under the current mix of proportional representation and first-past-the-post, a winning coalition needs more than 40 percent of the vote to have the necessary parliamentary majority.
With full proportional representation, parties or coalitions would need a much bigger majority to form a government.
Former chief economist at the Italian Treasury Department, Lorenzo Codogno, has warned that the pressing need to change the electoral law could serve as glue to hold the coalition together, but he also expressed concerns that 'I have a feeling that (the electoral law) won't happen very soon.'
