The Italian public has approved a cut
in the number of parliamentarians in referendum staged on Sunday
and Monday while a round of regional elections ended in in a
tie, with the centre left and the opposition centre right
.wining three each.
In the referendum, people were asked whether to approve a law
that amends the Italian Constitution to reduce the number of MPs
in parliament, from 630 to 400 in the Chamber of Deputies and
from 315 to 200 in the Senate.
The yes vote prevailed with 69.64%, compared to 30.36% for the
no vote.
Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, whose 5-Star Movement (M5S) was
the driving force of the campaign for this reform, hailed a
"historic result".
"We now have a normal parliament with 345 fewer posts and fewer
privileges," he said.
"This is politics that gives a signal to the citizens.
"It would never have happened without the 5-Star Movement.
"I'm proud of this result," he added, speaking to ANSA.
"Today is a starting point, not a final destination".
The opposition rightwing League, on the other hand, said the
outcome of the referendum should lead to the end of the current
parliamentary term and early elections.
"The logical consequence would be that the houses of parliament
are dissolved in order to finally experience the efficiency won
by this reform," Riccardo Molinari., the League's leader in the
Lower HOue, said via Twitter.
In the regional elections centre-right incumbent governors Luca
Zaia and Giovanni Toti won by big margins respectively in Veneto
and Liguria.
In Marche, the centre right's Francesco Acquaroli won too
In Campania centre-left Governor Vincenzo De Luca easily fended
off the centre right's Stefano Caldoro.
In Puglia Governor Michele Emiliano beat former governor and
centre right candidate Raffaele Fitto
The centre left also held Tuscany, thanks to Eugenio Giani's
victory.
The fact that the centre-right opposition failed to land a
decisive victory in the regional elections was widely seen as
strengthening Premier Giuseppe Conte's government, which is
based in an alliance between the centre-left Democratic Party
and the 5-Star Movement (M5S), along with other smaller groups.
PD Deputy Leader Andrea Orlando said Tuesday that the government
must now move up a gear as it faces the task of delivering
recovery from the COVID-19 emergency.
"I have always said that we are going into a third phase, the
phase of reconstruction, and in my opinion this must be based on
a quantum leap in the quality of the State's response," he said.
Zaia, who is a member of Matteo Salvini's League party,
dismissed speculation he could go on to become the national
leader of the centre right after his landslide win in Veneto.
"It doesn't interest me," he said.
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