Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

POLITICS

Renzi clashes with Italy’s smaller parties over new electoral law

After three of Italy's major political parties reached an agreement on the country's electoral law, some of the smaller parties have criticized guidelines aimed at limiting fragmentation in the government.

Published: 1 June 2017 16:22 CEST
Renzi clashes with Italy's smaller parties over new electoral law
Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano (L) and Democratic Party leader Matteo Renzi, pictured when they were Interior Minister and Prime Minister. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

The ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD) reached a deal with the two largest opposition parties on a new electoral law based on the German system earlier this week.

Under the new law, parliament would be selected through proportional representation and only those parties obtaining at least five percent of the vote would be represented.

The anti-establishment Five Star Movement and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia agreed on the terms, and the bill will be discussed in Italy's Lower House of Parliament on Tuesday.

This is a day later than had been expected, reportedly due to complaints from some parliamentary groups that they had not been given enough time to examine the proposals.

Ex-PM and Democratic Party leader Matteo Renzi said that under the new system, a maximum of “four or five” parties would be represented in parliament. The “veto power” of the smaller parties would be removed, he added, thanks to the five percent threshold which he said was “non-negotiable”.

But there are still obstacles to overcome before the bill can become law, and the small parties which would lose out have criticized both the timing and content of the bill.

READ ALSO: Ten key things to know about the Italian political system

Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano, who previously served as Interior Minister in Matteo Renzi's government, has been the most vocal critic.

Alfano, who leads the junior government partner Popular Area, has criticized the PD for its “impatience to take Italy to the polls three or four months early”. He argued that autumn elections would cost the country “billions” and create uncertainty as Italy gears up to pass the 2018 budget bill.


Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

Renzi retorted that the elections would not affect the 2018 budget bill, adding that both Germany and Austria go to the polls in the autumn and face the same rules as Italy. European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici also said that early elections would “never be a problem”.

Speaking on Italian TV show Porta a Porta, Renzi accused Alfano of being concerned at the prospect of not reaching the five percent threshold.

“If those who don't get five percent [of votes] are left out [of the government], it's not a drama. If you've been in government for years and you've been minister of everything and can't get five percent, obviously we can't stop everything,” he said. 

Alfano is the only Italian politician to have served as Minister of Justice, Interior Affairs and Foreign Affairs; the three offices considered the most powerful in government behind the Prime Minister.

On Thursday, Alfano said he “accepted the challenge of the five percent threshold” and would not propose any amendments.

However, the long-term Renzi ally added: “My collaboration with the Democratic Party is finished. We have been loyal and have been poorly repaid.”

Voting on the electoral law is expected on Wednesday, after a scheduled 22 hours of debate. Renzi says the bill should be approved by both houses (the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate) by July 7th.

Because of this, many observers are expecting elections to be held in the autumn, with all the opposition parties hoping for a September date. However, this is not yet certain and the vote could be delayed depending on opposition within parliament.

READ ALSO: Early elections are looking increasingly likely in Italy. Here's why

As well as Alfano, Justice Minister Andrea Orlando – who leads an anti-Renzi faction of the PD – said an autumn general election would be a “leap in the dark” and that “the country risks ungovernability after the vote”. 

And on Thursday, Five Star Movement MP Roberto Fico said the agreement on the law was “not to be taken for granted”.

Italy is currently ruled by Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni's caretaker government after Renzi stepped down following a referendum defeat in December. Renzi himself came to power following an internal party coup, and his two predecessors Enrico Letta and technocract Mario Monti were not elected by the Italian people either.

 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

POLITICS

How much control does Giorgia Meloni’s government have over Italian media?

There's been renewed debate over the state of press freedom in Italy following warnings that Meloni's administration is seeking "control" of Italy's media. But what's behind these reports?

Published: 9 April 2024 13:13 CEST
How much control does Giorgia Meloni's government have over Italian media?

Press freedom is at the centre of fresh debate in Italy this week after Spanish newspaper El País on Saturday published an article titled “Meloni wants all the media power in Italy.”

The report, which was picked up by Italian newspaper La Repubblica, suggests that the Italian prime minister and her right-wing executive is looking to “monopolise” national print and broadcast outlets

It follows reports in English-language media recently describing how Meloni is accused of trying to stamp her authority on Italian arts and media in what critics call a “purge” of dissenting voices.

Meloni and members of her administration have long faced accusations of trying to silence journalists and intimidate detractors. Media organisations say this often takes the form of high-profile politicians bringing lawsuits against individual journalists, and cite the defamation case brought by Meloni against anti-mafia reporter Roberto Saviano in 2023 as a prime example.

READ ALSO: Six things to know about the state of press freedom in Italy

Discussions over media independence aren’t new in Italy, as the country has consistently ranked poorly in the annual Press Freedom reports by Reporters without Borders in recent years. Italy came in 41st out of 180 in the 2023 ranking, which made it the worst country in western Europe for press freedom.

But what’s behind the recent allegations that the government is trying to exert a more direct influence?

Meloni, Porta a Porta

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Italian national TV show Porta a Porta in Rome on April 4th 2024. Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

National television

The article from El País accuses Meloni’s cabinet of effectively controlling Italy’s two biggest national broadcasters: state-owned RAI and commercial broadcaster Mediaset.

While Mediaset and its three main channels (Rete 4, Canale 5 and Italia 1) have long been seen as ‘loyal’ to Meloni’s executive – the network was founded by the late Silvio Berlusconi, whose Forza Italia party continues to be a key member of the ruling coalition – the government’s ties with public broadcaster RAI are more complex.

Unlike state-owned broadcasters in other European countries, RAI is not controlled by a regulatory body but rather by the government itself, which means that the network has always been particularly susceptible to political influences. 

But Meloni’s cabinet is accused of exerting unprecedented power over the broadcaster following the replacement of former top executives with figures considered closer to the government.

Salvini, RAI

Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini speaks with Italian journalist Bruno Vespa during the talk show Porta a Porta, broadcast on Italian channel Rai 1. Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP

Last May, Carlo Fuortes resigned as RAI’s CEO saying that he couldn’t possibly “accept changes opposed to RAI’s interests”. He was replaced by centrist Roberto Sergio, who in turn appointed Giampaolo Rossi – a “loyalist” of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party – as the network’s general director. 

Sergio and Rossi’s appointment was closely followed by a general management reshuffle which saw figures close to the government occupy key positions within the company. This led to critics and journalists dubbing the network ‘TeleMeloni’.

Print media 

Besides concerns over its sway on Italy’s main broadcast networks, Meloni’s executive is currently under heavy scrutiny following the rumoured takeover of Italy’s AGI news agency by the right-wing Angelucci publishing group. 

The group is headed by Antonio Angelucci, an MP for Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s hard-right League party, and owner of three right-wing newspapers: Il Giornale, Libero and Il Tempo.

News of the potential takeover from Angelucci sparked a series of strikes and demonstrations from the news agency’s journalists in recent weeks, with reporters raising concerns over the independence and autonomy of journalists in the event of an ownership change.

The leader of the centre-left Democratic Party Elly Schlein weighed in on the matter last week, saying that the sale of Italy’s second-largest news agency to a ruling coalition MP would be “inadmissible”.

Further debate over press freedom in the country emerged in early March after three journalists from the left-wing Domani newspaper were accused of illegally accessing and publishing private data regarding a number of high-profile people, including Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, and the late Silvio Berlusconi’s girlfriend. 

The newspaper has so far condemned the investigation, saying it is “a warning to Domani and all journalists” and a further threat to media independence in a country ranked amongst the worst in Europe for press freedom.

SHOW COMMENTS