ROME (Realist English). Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition is fast‑tracking a sweeping reform of Italy’s electoral system through parliament. On June 24, the Chamber of Deputies approved the fourth and final government amendment to the bill, known as “Bignami bis.”
The opposition calls the changes a “premiershipt under a different guise” and an attempt to usurp power, while Meloni insists the reform is needed for political stability and to prevent a return to the “era of ineffective governments.”
The Essence of the Reform: A Bonus for Stability
The bill envisages a shift to a fully proportional system with a key innovation — a “governability bonus” (premio di governabilità). If a coalition or party receives more than 42% of the vote in national elections, it automatically gets extra seats in parliament.
The winning bloc will receive 70 additional mandates in the 400‑seat Chamber of Deputies and 35 in the 200‑seat Senate.
According to modelling by polling company YouTrend, under the current mixed system, none of the blocs would be able to obtain a parliamentary majority. The proposed reform, however, under the current balance of forces (the centre‑right leads the opposition by 4 percentage points), would give Meloni’s coalition up to 242 seats in the lower house against 152 for the opposition.
Even a narrow electoral margin would translate into a solid parliamentary majority, which, according to the authors, should put an end to the “Italian disease” — frequent cabinet changes.
The bill itself sets a “ceiling” of 60% of seats for the winner “to protect the opposition,” but critics call this clause formal, since the 42% threshold under the current polarisation makes reaching 60% nearly impossible — but even 55% would already give total control over the legislative process.
Opposition Reaction: “Premiershipt” Under a Different Flag
The Democratic Party (PD), the Five Star Movement (M5S), and centre‑left forces united against the reform, submitting about 770 amendments to the committee, including 322 joint rejections. However, all were dismissed by the government majority.
Democratic senator Marco Meloni (a namesake of the prime minister) stated:
“The right’s proposal is not just a change to voting rules. It is an attempt to push through a project that Italians already rejected in the 2020 referendum on cutting the number of parliamentarians. An authoritarian design that concentrates power in one person’s hands, shrinks institutional balances, reduces space for democratic representation and rights.”
M5S leader Giuseppe Conte and PD secretary Elly Schlein issued a joint statement:
“Meloni’s government only thinks about how to secure itself, forgetting about families and businesses. The right wants to force the reform through because they are afraid of losing the next elections. This is an attempt to rewrite the rules of the game in their favour.”
The secretary of the “+Europa” party, Riccardo Magi, went even further, proposing to rename the bill’s articles as the “New Fascist Acerbo Law” — a reference to the infamous 1923 electoral law that helped Benito Mussolini come to power and establish a dictatorship.
“This is not just a provocation, but an act of condemnation of a law that takes all power away from voters and tries to turn a political minority into a parliamentary majority,” Magi declared.
Context: Split in the Right‑Wing Camp and the “Vannacci Effect”
The situation is complicated by an unexpected factor — former Carabinieri general Roberto Vannacci, who has created a new party on the right flank, “Italian Way” (Via Italiana), which according to polls is siphoning votes away from Meloni’s coalition.
It is precisely Vannacci’s emergence that has called the prime minister’s calculations into question: until recently, her coalition comfortably exceeded the 40% threshold, but now, according to the latest SWG polls, the combined centre‑right rating hovers around 38–39%, failing to reach the coveted 42%.
In response, the ruling majority introduced an amendment effectively forcing Vannacci’s party to collect signatures on paper to participate in elections (instead of simplified digital collection), which experts see as an attempt to “freeze” his political rise. Vannacci himself called it “pure censorship” and threatened to bring his supporters out onto the streets.
Political scientist Roberto D’Alimonte from Luiss University called Meloni’s initiative “illegitimate”:
“This is unacceptable,” he repeated three times in an interview with Swiss SRF. “Such fundamental changes should be approved not only by the ruling coalition, but at least by part of the opposition. And that is not the case.”
He also warned that a system with a 42% bonus could backfire, leading to fragmentation: small parties will seek to run separately so that no coalition reaches the threshold, and ultimately governability will not improve but worsen.
Meloni’s Position: Stability at Any Cost
The prime minister herself, speaking at an event for the newspaper La Verità, rejected accusations of manipulation:
“It would be shameful to back down. Today we are seen as a bulwark of stability in Europe; yesterday Italy was unstable in a more stable Europe. I do not want Italy to become unstable again. We must not miss this historic chance.”
According to her, the reform “serves not the centre‑right, but whoever wins the elections — the winner must have the numbers to govern.” “Let the strongest win, but the reform of the electoral law is for Italy; a step backwards would be devastating for investor confidence and international partners.”
The bill is being pushed forward under tight timing: a Senate vote is expected before the summer recess, after which the law could be finally approved as early as July.
Earlier, Meloni already lost a constitutional referendum on judicial reform in March 2026 (53.23% voted against), and now the stakes in the battle over the electoral system are even higher — a defeat could seriously undermine her authority within her own party, Brothers of Italy.
International Reaction and Prospects
The European Commission is refraining from direct comments, but sources in Brussels note that any change to electoral legislation in a major EU country is closely monitored for compliance with the rule of law.
If the reform is passed, the opposition has already promised to challenge it in the Constitutional Court, arguing that it violates the principle of equal suffrage.
Experts also point out that Meloni risks repeating the fate of her predecessor Mario Draghi, who also tried to reform the system but failed due to a lack of broad consensus.
However, the current government has a more solid parliamentary majority, making the law’s passage nearly inevitable — unless an internal split occurs.