The battle over the electoral law is in full swing. Today at 10 the text of the Italicum arrives in the Chamber in the Chamber and the deputies will vote by secret ballot on the four preliminary rulings on constitutionality presented by Sel, Lega, Movimento 30 Stelle and Popolari per l'Italia. Anonymity generates some apprehension in Forza Italia and above all in the Democratic Party, called to a test of unity that is anything but obvious.
Maria Elena Boschi, head of the Pd secretariat for reforms, flaunts confidence, stating that the party will prove to be united. Even the main exponent of the anti-Renzi current, Gianni Cuperlo, claims that there will be no breaks in the Democratic Party.
Yesterday evening, however, the democratic deputies resubmitted the amendments to the text that had been withdrawn in the commission: those of Rosy Bindi on the preferences stand out, that of Marco Meloni on the primaries regulated by law and that of Giuseppe Lauricella to subordinate the entry into force of the electoral law to the reform of the Senate.
Meanwhile, again yesterday the law was approved by the Constitutional Affairs commission of Montecitorio. The vote - which lasted just about ten seconds - was hampered by the tussle of the Grillini parliamentarians, who staged a lively protest. The deputies of the minor groups (Fratelli d'Italia, Lega, Sel, Popolari, Centro democratico), together with Antonio Leone of the Nuovo centre-right, argue that the operation is not valid and should be repeated.
In any case, time should not be lacking, because the first merit votes on the law could even arrive on Tuesday 11 February, due to the overtaking of the decree law on the land of fires on the agenda.
However, today's vote represents an opportunity for anyone who wants to weaken the Pd secretary, Matteo Renzi, and put his axis with Silvio Berlusconi to the test. If the preliminary rulings were to be rejected with a slim majority, the message would be clear: the agreement is not armored.
