The challenge on the constitutional reform of the Senate continues. A vote is expected today on a key article, number 2, on which the president of the constitutional affairs commission Anna Finocchiaro has reached an agreement with the Pd minority in recent days. Yesterday was a crucial day with the first votes: Senator Dem Roberto Cociancich presented a "kangaroo" amendment to Article 1 which will be voted on today and which, by completely rewriting the text, eliminates all the changes presented by the opposition in one fell swoop, protecting the majority of 19 secret ballots. Skill and knowledge of the regulations have given birth, between Palazzo Chigi (where it is said he was followed directly by the secretary general to the Presidency Paolo Aquilanti) and Palazzo Madama, the parliamentary expedient whose stability I will verify during today's vote. In the meantime, the amendment has sparked protests from Lega, M5S, FI and Sel and the heated reply of the Pd group leader in the Senate who defended his party colleague and accused his opponents: "You don't want reforms!".
In this climate, the first votes were held which saw the majority obtain a range between 161 and 171 votes in favour. Today it resumes, after article 1, with the vote on article 2 on which 6 secret votes are lurking. The article was the subject of a long tug of war but in the end the president of the Senate Pietro Grasso had to accept the decision already expressed by Anna Finocchiaro: amendments admitted only on paragraph 5. Which means accepting the government's thesis even if , again Grasso, then admitted 6 secret votes and 50 hypothetical changes to the Finocchiaro award (which provides for the almost direct election of senators) which last week obtained the consent of the Pd minority.
Between cunning and twists, we therefore move forward. The government's goal is to close the game in the Senate by 13 October.
