Article 5 of the bill was passed by the lawmakers from the parties Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition, while the opposition groups left the chamber in protest.
Among the issues the opposition picked fault with is the fact that the bill does not say how the PM would be elected, deferring this to another bill.
Under the current system in Italy, parties engage in government-formation talks after a general election.
Then, the coalition that forms a ruling majority in parliament agrees on a figure to propose to the President of the Republic to become prime minister.
That figure is not necessarily one of the politicians given by the parties as their PM candidate during the election campaign.
The centre-left opposition Democratic Party has slammed the proposed reform as “dangerous”, saying that it “weakens parliament and the prerogatives of the President of the Republic”.
Meloni says the proposed reform to let Italians choose their prime ministers directly will lead to stronger and more stable governments in a country which has long been dogged by unstable revolving door administrations.
The reform plan needs to muster a two-thirds majority in both chambers of parliament to avoid the need for it to be put to a referendum.
ANSA
