There would be a first agreement on institutional reforms and a new electoral law. At least among the party experts: Violante for the Pd, Quagliariello for the Pdl, Bocchino for the futurists, Pisicchio for the Ape, Adornato for the Udc. The substance would be roughly this: reduction of MPs (508 deputies and 254 senators); end of perfect bicameralism, with the Chamber which will have the exclusive power of the State (foreign policy, currency, public order, welfare) and the Senate which will deal with the concurrent legislative power, divided between the State and the regions; more powers to the premier, which will be able to revoke the ministers, but also ask for the dissolution of the Chambers; introduction of constructive distrust.
As for the electoral reform, this will provide for a 5% barrier and a premium for parties that exceed 11%, as well as a penalty for those that settle between 5 and 11%. This is the introduction of the German model (proportional), with some corrections (bonuses) taken from the Spanish model. The parliamentarians will then be chosen from among candidates in the various single-member constituencies and from blocked lists indicated by the parties. In practice, the voter with a single vote will pronounce himself both in favor of the candidate of the party chosen in that constituency, and for the blocked list indicated by that same party. At least in part there will be a survival of Porcellum.
The agreement reached in the so-called Violante committee is certainly a step forward. But in complex matters such as electoral and constitutional matters nothing can be taken for granted. In the end, the political forces will decide. And it is known that there is no shortage of differences, even significant ones, within them. It is probable that in the end more than one transversal line-up will form. For now it can be noted that the path taken puts aside the self-styled Italian bipolarity, favoring the proportional system, already present enough in the Porcellum, and eliminating the indication of the premier, given that the coalitions will only be formed after the vote. It is a return to the orthodoxy of the Constitution, which as is well known provides that ours is a parliamentary republic. Reason for which, beyond propaganda slogans, it is up to Parliament to trust the Government and the Prime Minister.
In any case, there is a timing issue. The new electoral law should be operational for the spring 2013 elections. And there are some problems here. So far the prevailing opinion among the parties is that institutional reforms must be carried out first and then the electoral one. A reasoning that is based on the fact that, for example, first it is necessary to establish how many parliamentarians to elect and then with which method to elect them. Reasoning which, however, is more valid for the indication and arrangement of constituencies than for the choice of the electoral law. Which would be the same whatever the number of parliamentarians to be elected. While the geography of the constituencies would change based on the number of parliamentarians. Reason for which nothing would prevent the electoral law from being made first to then complete the process of constitutional reforms.
Which, it should be remembered, need at least four parliamentary readings to be approved, while, being an ordinary law, the electoral reform has faster approval times. The suspicion is therefore founded that when we say "first the constitutional reforms, then the electoral one" we are resorting to a ploy to boycott the latter. For this reason, it would be appropriate to approve the new electoral rules as soon as possible. To free citizens from Porcellum as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, a bad signal has arrived from Palermo on the functioning of the "primaries". Those of the Pd ended with a real mess: the favorite candidate, Rita Borsellino (supported by the secretariat of the Pd, Idv and Sel), was narrowly beaten by Fabrizio Ferrandelli, a former dipietrist who joined the Democratic Party and was looked upon with particular sympathy by the governor of the island, Raffaele Lombardo. Borsellino asked for a recount, denouncing fraud. How things really went will be better understood shortly.
For now, one shouldn't be far from the truth by advancing the hypothesis that with the "do-it-yourself" primaries fraud is rather easy (the precedent of the primaries in Naples is eloquent), that in many cases the official candidate from Rome (and such was la Borsellino) is penalized by bearers of localist demands, and above all that it is particularly easy for the opposing alignment to pollute the vote of those who hold the primaries. It would not be bad, if one wants to insist on the primaries, for them to be regulated more rigorously. Maybe with a law.
