A purebred politician always leaves his mark. A few words were enough President Emeritus of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano to go straight to the heart of telenovela of the electoral law, which is arousing more and more astonishment on the international scene. The Italicum is not the ideal electoral reform that each of us dreams of, but it is the fruit of these times and these political balances and can only be a "compromise" of a Tripolar and bizarre parliament like the one that came out of the last political elections.
But this time too the best is the enemy of the good. For this reason, all that remains is to immediately and definitively approve the Italicum in the Chamber as it is, because changing it, even in just one point, would mean swamping it in the Senate, where there is no certain majority, and perhaps burying it forever. . With the good result of going to the next elections with the Consultellum which, being ultra-proportional, promises an ultra-fragmented Parliament with lots of regards to governability. Hic Rhodus, hic salta.
This is why Napolitano is once again absolutely right when he sends word to minorities of the Democratic Party, But also to Forza Italia which approved the Italicum in the Senate and today pretends to forget about it, that would “a trouble, undoing what has been painstakingly built”. Words of pure common sense that any politician with a modicum of wisdom would make of him.
But in politics, as in life, common sense does not always equate to common sense. AND the litmus test will already take place tomorrow when Matteo Renzi, before leaving for Washington where he will meet President Barack Obama at the White House, will once again bring together the group of deputies of the Democratic Party to convince the 90 dissidents to definitively approve the Italicum which will be examined on April 27 of the Montecitorio hall.
The central point is precisely this: today, like it or not, Italicum cannot be improved politically and has no certain alternatives. Either you approve it immediately with whoever you agree with or you bury it. Of course it would be nice if such an important law for the rules of the game were approved by a large parliamentary majority but in this field you need to know what you are talking about and memory lapses are not allowed.
As the professor recalled Roberto D'Alimonte, one of the leading experts on electoral systems, in last Sunday's "Il Sole 24 Ore", unfortunately on electoral laws the party interest always prevails over that of the country e also the Mattarellum, which was the best electoral law of recent decades, was approved by only 39,4% of deputies.
It is not a test of strength that is attributed to Prime Minister Renzi but pure common sense, because the numbers of the Senate make a new approval of the Italicum unlikely or at least uncertain and, therefore, if you want to give the country a new electoral law you have to eat what's available. A soup that will have many defects but which has the merit of establishing a certain winner of the elections and eliminating the mess-ups and which is unquestionably better than the Porcellum but also the Consultellum. Take or leave. “Woe to undo what has been built”. Napolitano is right and may heaven enlighten the minds of dissidents.
