Semi-presidentialism or premiership. The Prime Minister intends to focus on one of the two options. 6 months after the election of the new Parliament, Giorgia Meloni intends to start the negotiations that will lead the centre-right majority to keep one of the main promises made during the electoral campaign: a constitutional reform giving greater powers to the President of the Republic. But there is also a second option that has emerged in the last few hours: that of strengthening the role of the Prime Minister not only through his direct election, but also by giving Palazzo Chigi new and greater powers, including constructive no-confidence. And it would not surprise anyone that the prime minister's pragmatism ends up overturning her initial options and moving towards the premiership without questioning the constitutional guarantee figure of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, which the Premier does not intend under any circumstances to oppose.
Tuesday the table with the oppositions
There are also two diametrically opposed ways of implementing the constitutional reform: Meloni will make a first attempt withn the oppositionsbut in all likelihood they will get in the way. If so, the majority will go it alone.
The Prime Minister has convened in the Chamber, at the President's Library, representatives of the main parties. The meeting will be held on Tuesday from 12,30 to 20. The two undersecretaries to the presidency, the minister of reforms Casellati and the two deputy prime ministers Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani will also be present. Not only that, that will be the occasion for the first face-to-face between the prime minister and Pd secretary Elly Schlein. The program of the meetings has already been fixed: 12.30 member + Europe; 13 Autonomy Group and linguistic minorities component; 13.45 Group of the Alliance of the Greens and the Left; 15.30 Action Group-Italia Viva-Renew Europe; 17 Five Star Movement Group; 18.30 Democratic Party Group.
Elly Schlein has already made it known that there will be, as well as Carlo Calenda with the group leaders of the Third Pole. He has no plans to participate instead Giuseppe Conte, engaged in Brescia for the judicial inquiry into the government's role in the pandemic, which should send someone else to represent the 5 Star Movement.
What are the locations? For the moment, a first opening (but only on the premiership) has come from the Third Pole, while Pd and M5S intend to consolidate on the No to both options. “The hypothesis of semi-presidentialism? No, we are for the premiership if we want to rewrite it as a category; strong powers of the prime minister and also an indication of the prime minister perhaps”, said the leader of Azione Carlo Calenda during a public meeting for the Reformist list which includes Azione-Iv-Psi. Even more convinced of the premiership is the leader of Italia Viva, Matteo Renzi, who has always proposed a constitutional reform on the model of the Mayor of Italy.
The three options on the table
There are three options currently on the table. The first is the most radical but also the centre-right most welcome: the direct election of the President of the Republic, to be understood if with a single election for government and parliament. Then there is the “Spanish” hypothesis: election of the President of the Council to which broader powers and prerogatives would be attributed (first of all, choice and revocation of ministers). The third and final option would instead provide for the introduction of procedural and corrective changes, including the constructive distrust, on the German model. The curtain will begin to rise on Tuesday.
