Tomorrow we start again. After almost a month of post-election hangover - far from disposed of - the Italian Parliament reopens its doors, younger and more feminine than ever. The new faces are wasted: out of a total of 945 parliamentarians, there are 567 newly elected. That is 60%.
The first real task for new entries and old glories will be the election of new presidents of the chambers. The procedures are different, but once again the ungovernability born of the polls will have an impact.
At Montecitorio the process is theoretically longer, because in the first three ballots the number one of the Assembly is elected only if the favorable votes reach the quorum of two thirds. From the fourth round onwards, an absolute majority will suffice.
Beyond the agreements between the parties, at the arithmetic level there shouldn't be major problems in choosing Gianfranco Fini's successor, since in the Chamber - thanks to the Porcellum - the Democratic Party enjoys overwhelming superiority.
In the Senate the question is different. Even if the procedure is more expeditious, the basic problem remains: an absolute majority would be sufficient immediately, but unfortunately it does not exist in Palazzo Madama. No coalition reaches the longed-for 51%.
Of course, the election of the second state office is important, but not how to vote confidence in a government. It is therefore possible that in the end the political opponents will be able to find a partition agreement as painless as possible. In any case, starting from the third ballot, the new president of the Senate can be elected by simple majority.
In short, for now there are only two certainties. First, the two names will probably indicate in which direction the political balancing act of the coming months will lean. Second, Matteo Renzi delivered a disarming and incontrovertible sentence to L'Espresso: "It takes less to be Pope than to be Speaker of the Chamber."
