Meloni Vows to Salvage Electoral Reform After 188-187 Defeat Exposes 20-25 Rebels
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 15
Meloni Vows to Salvage Electoral Reform After 188-187 Defeat Exposes 20-25 Rebels
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 15
Summary
A one-vote loss on Tuesday did not halt Giorgia Meloni’s electoral overhaul, with coalition leaders insisting they will press on after the lower house rejected a key amendment 188-187.
The secret-ballot defeat exposed deep dissent inside the ruling bloc: ministers said 20-25 coalition lawmakers voted against a measure that would have expanded voters’ ability to rank candidates on party lists.
Opposition parties treated the rebellion as proof Meloni has lost control, chanting for elections and resignation while Elly Schlein, Giuseppe Conte and Matteo Renzi urged her to step down.
Allies from Brothers of Italy and Forza Italia instead called the vote a temporary setback, with Ignazio La Russa saying the amendment could be revived in the Senate and Antonio Tajani dismissing collapse talk.
The setback hits Meloni’s broader reform agenda after March’s failed judiciary referendum and comes as coalition polling trails a PD-led left alliance, raising the risk of a hung parliament before elections due by October 2027.