German-style, but not really. The electoral reform resulting from the Pd-Fi-M5S agreement came together in a maxi-amendment that the rapporteur Emanuele Fiano (Pd) deposited in the Constitutional Affairs Commission in the Chamber. The text takes the system conceived in Germany as a model, but corrects it in some important points.
1. SINGLE MEMBERS CONstituencies AND BLOCKED LISTS
Let's start with the basic approach, which remains faithful to the product made in Germany. This is an entirely proportional model, in which, however, seats are assigned partly with single-member constituencies (generally adopted in majority voting systems) and partly with multi-member blocked lists (typical of proportional systems).
Italy (excluding Trentino Alto Adige, where the Mattarellum will continue to be used) is divided into 303 single-member constituencies (where each party will present only one candidate) and into 27 multi-member constituencies (each with blocked lists of 2-3 names for single party).
2. ONLY ONE VOTE
Voters can express only one preference, which applies both to the candidate in the single-member constituency and to the list connected to him in the multi-member constituency. Separate voting is therefore not permitted.
Here is the most relevant difference compared to the German model. In Germany, separate voting is possible because the number of MPs varies (if a party wins more MPs in single-member constituencies than in multi-member constituencies, seats are added so that the proportion is respected), while in Italy the number of deputies ( 630) and senators (316) is fixed by the Constitution, therefore the dynamism that characterizes the German system is inapplicable.
3. WHICH CANDIDATES ARE ELECTED
Our solution is much more rigid: the votes are counted throughout Italy and, on the basis of the percentage, it is established how many seats each party has. Warning: this calculation must be done at both national and district level. The first result serves to understand how many MPs each party has, while the second determines which candidates are elected.
Indeed, in each constituency, the parties draw up a ranking: the first to be elected is the head of the blocked list, followed by the candidates who won in the respective single-member constituencies in that same constituency. If there were then the arithmetical necessity, candidates number 2 and number 3 from the list would also be drawn.
4. PARACHUTE APPLICATIONS
As in the Mattarellum, a candidate can present himself in a single-member constituency and in three blocked lists with the role of list leader. In this way the heads of the parties, by deciding how to distribute the candidates, have the possibility of planning with a good margin of safety who will be elected.
5. THE 5% BARREL
Finally, the most controversial aspect: the threshold of 5 percent, subject of a dispute between the leader of the Democratic Party, Matteo Renzi, and the head of Popular Alternative, Angelino Alfano.
Basically, the small parties that get up to 4,9% of the votes remain outside Parliament and the larger parties consequently obtain a premium, because the seats obtained by those who remain below the threshold are divided. We are not talking about crumbs: in Germany, for example, this mechanism allows the Cdu to pass from 41 to 49% of the seats.
The German model, however, also provides for a form of protection for minor political formations, admitting to the Bundestag also parties which - despite not having reached 5% - have won at least three single-member constituencies. Norm that is not foreseen in the Italian reform project.
