2020 Italian constitutional referendum

A constitutional referendum will be held in Italy on 20 and 21 September 2020.[1] Voters will be asked whether they approve a constitutional law that amends the Italian Constitution in various aspects, most notably reducing the number of MPs in the Parliament, from 630 to 400 in the Chamber of Deputies and from 315 to 200 in the Senate.[2] Initially scheduled to be held on 29 March, the referendum was postponed following the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in Italy.[3][4][5]

Italian constitutional referendum
Do you approve the text of the Constitutional Law concerning 'Amendments to articles 56, 57 and 59 of the Constitution concerning the reduction of the number of parliamentarians' approved by Parliament and published in the Official Gazette no. 240 of 12 October 2019?
Date20–21 September 2020

Political background

In 2016, the PD-led coalition goverment proposed a series of constitutional reforms with the aim of reducing the total number of parliamentarians, simplifying the legislative process, and removing the perfect bicameralism in particular by greatly reducing the size and scope of the Senate.[6] The proposal was overwhelmingly rejected by the Italian people through a constitutional referendum, prompting the resignations of then Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

In 2019, The PD-M5S coalition goverment proposed new constitutional reforms which simply call for the reduction of the number of parlamentarians by a third, and the bill was approved with the support of all the major political parties.[6] The proposal was a main 2018 campaign promise by the Five Star Movement in an effort to reduce the costs of politics and to slash privileges for lawmakers. Indeed, the total reduction in costs for the taxpayers is estimated between 285 and 500 million euros per five-year parliamentary term.[6] However, critics have slammed these numbers as petty figures, and argue that the reduction in the number of lawmakers would decrease democratic representation, lowering the number of lawmakers per 100,000 inhabitants from 1.6 to 1, compared to Germany's 0.9 ratio, France's 1.4 ratio, and the United Kingdom's 2.1 ratio.[6]

Proposed changes
Provinces of Italy (grey borders), within Regions (solid borders).

The proposed Constitutional Law would amend Article 56 of the Constitution by reducing the number of Deputies from 630, twelve of which are elected in the overseas constituencies, to 400, eight of which are elected in the overseas constituencies.[7] According to Paragraph 3 of the Article, the division of seats among the electoral districts, with the exception of the number of seats assigned to the overseas constituencies, is obtained by dividing the number of inhabitants of the Republic, as shown by the latest general census of the population, by 392 (as it would be changed by the Law from 618) and distributing the seats in proportion to the population in every electoral district, on the basis of whole shares and the highest remainders.[8]

The Law would also amend Article 57 of the Constitution by reducing the number of Senators from 315, six of which are elected in the overseas constituencies, to 200, four of which are elected in the overseas constituencies.[7] The senators are elected on a regional basis and no Region or Autonomous Province would now have fewer than 3 (down from 7) senators, with the exception of Molise and Aosta Valley, which will respectively still have two and one. Paragraph 4 would also be changed stating that the division of seats among the Regions and Autonomous Provinces, in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Paragraph, is made in proportion to their population as shown by the latest general census of the population, on the basis of whole shares and the highest remainders.[7]

Article 59 of the Constitution would be changed by specifying that the total number of incumbent life senators appointed by the President of Italy, the other kind being former Presidents themselves, cannot be higher than five.[7]

The proposed changes would therefore reduce the number of seats per electoral district for both Chambers of Parliament and thus increase the number of votes required to win a seat. This explains why the proposed changes are opposed by most minor parties, with the exception of those that can count on a small but solid electoral base, such as the regional South Tyrolean People's Party, which would see their influence in Parliament increase.

Campaign positions

Political parties
Composition of the Chamber of Deputies after the 4 March 2018 election. Slight changes may have occurred since then due to politicians switching parties.
Composition of the Senate after the 4 March 2018 election. Slight changes may have occurred since then due to politicians switching parties.
Choice Parties Political orientation Leader Ref
Y Yes League (Lega) Right-wing populism Matteo Salvini [9]
Democratic Party (PD) Social democracy Nicola Zingaretti [10]
Five Star Movement (M5S) Populism Luigi Di Maio [11]
Forza Italia (FI) Liberal conservatism Silvio Berlusconi [12]
Brothers of Italy (FdI) National conservatism Giorgia Meloni [13]
Article One (Art. 1) Social democracy Roberto Speranza [14]
South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP) Regionalism Arno Kompatscher [15]
Cambiamo! (C!) Liberal conservatism Giovanni Toti [16]
N No Italia Viva (IV) Liberalism Matteo Renzi [17]
Action (Azione) Social liberalism Carlo Calenda [18]
Italian Left (SI) Democratic socialism Nicola Fratoianni [19]
More Europe (+Eu) Liberalism Benedetto Della Vedova [20]
Federation of the Greens (FdV) Green politics collective leadership [21]
Italy in Common (IiC) Progressivism Federico Pizzarotti [22]
Power to the People (PaP) Communism Viola Carofalo [23]
Italian Socialist Party (PSI) Social democracy Enzo Maraio [24]
Energies for Italy (EpI) Liberalism Stefano Parisi [25]
Volt Italia Pro-Europeanism Federica Vinci [26]
Associative Movement Italians Abroad (MAIE) Italians abroad's interests Ricardo Antonio Merlo [27]
Democratic Centre (CD) Christian left Bruno Tabacci [28]
Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) Communism Maurizio Acerbo [29]
Christian Democracy (DC) Christian democracy Renato Grassi [30]
Italian Communist Party (PCI) Communism Mauro Alboresi [31]
Pact for Autonomy (PpA) Autonomism Massimo Moretuzzo [32]
Italian Marxist–Leninist Party (PMLI) Maoism Giovanni Scuderi [33]

Opinion polls
Date Polling Firm Sample size Total Considering only Yes/No vote
YYes NNo None / Don't know Lead YYes NNo Lead
23–25 Jun 2020 Ipsos 1,000 46.0 10.0 44.0 36.0 82.0 18.0 64.0
20–22 Feb 2020 Piepoli 503 81.0 9.0 10.0 72.0 90.0 10.0 80.0
13 Jan 2020 Euromedia 800 75.1 10.7 14.2 64.4 87.5 12.5 75.0
9–14 Dec 2019 Demos&Pi 1,212 86.0 12.0 2.0 74.0 86.0 14.0 72.0
8 Oct 2019
The Parliament approves the constitutional reform bill
7–8 Oct 2019 Demopolis 1,500 80.0 12.0 8.0 68.0 87.0 13.0 74.0

See also

References
  1. "Il 20 e 21 settembre ci sarà il referendum sul taglio del numero dei parlamentari" (in Italian). Il Post. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  2. "Il referendum sul taglio dei parlamentari si terrà il 29 marzo". la Repubblica (in Italian). 27 January 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  3. "Coronavirus, salta anche il referendum sul taglio dei parlamentari - Secolo d'Italia". Secoloditalia.it. 23 February 1976. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  4. "Indetto per il 29 marzo il referendum costituzionale". Dipartimento per gli affari interni e territoriali (in Italian). 30 January 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  5. "Cabinet sets March 29 for referendum on MP cut - sources - English". ANSA.it. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  6. "Italian lawmakers want fewer Italian lawmakers". Politico.
  7. "Official Gazzette, General Series 240 of 12-10-2019". Official Gazzette of the Italian Republic.
  8. "The Italian Constitution". The official website of the Presidency of the Italian Republic.
  9. "Salvini,invitiamo a votare sì referendum" (in Italian). ANSA. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  10. "Elenco dei soggetti politici referendari_agg. 3 marzo 2020". AGCOM (in Italian). Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  11. Di Maio, Luigi (19 December 2019). "Pronti per il #referendum sul taglio del parlamentari!". Il Blog delle Stelle. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  12. "Silvio Berlusconi: «Noi voteremo a favore del fondo salva-Stati»" (in Italian). Il Messaggero. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  13. "Riforme, Meloni: In caso di referendum confermativo FdI chiederà agli italiani di votare sì".
  14. "Le ragioni del nostro sì al taglio dei parlamentari spiegate ai critici (tardivi)". Articolo 1 MDP (in Italian). 9 October 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  15. "Anche Svp favorevole al taglio dei parlamentari" (in Italian). Il Messaggero. 14 July 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  16. "Toti: taglio parlamentari è un segnale ma risparmio è modesto" (in Italian). Askanews. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  17. "Renzi: 'Si vota a fine legislatura. Rispetto per Conte, ma non è leader progressisti'" (in Italian). ANSA. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  18. Calenda, Carlo [@CarloCalenda] (21 December 2019). "Sulla #prescrizione - come su ILVA, il taglio dei parlamentari, i decreti sicurezza, quota 100, il reddito di cittadinanza - quello che colpisce è il silenzio dei progressisti mentre avallano la linea #M5S. Quand'è che direte basta? @pdnetwork @ItaliaViva" (Tweet) (in Italian) – via Twitter.
  19. "Dietro al taglio dei parlamentari il morbo del antiparlamentarismo". Sinistra Italiana (in Italian). 8 February 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  20. "Riduzione del numero dei parlamentari. Una riforma che lascia milioni di italiani senza rappresentanza". Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  21. "REFERENDUM TAGLIO PARLAMENTARI: ADERIAMO AI COMITATI PER IL NO, RIFORMA COMPROMETTE DEMOCRAZIA". Verdi.it (in Italian). 14 February 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  22. "Italia in Comune sostiene il referendum contro riduzione parlamentari" (in Italian). Roma Daily News. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  23. "Il taglio ai parlamentari è un taglio a democrazia e rappresentanza: le nostre contro-proposte!". Potere al Popolo (in Italian). 7 October 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  24. "Riforme. PSI aderisce a raccolta firme contro taglio parlamentari. Maraio: "Approntare modifiche"". Partito Socialista Italiano (in Italian). Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  25. Parisi, Stefano [@s_parisi] (19 December 2019). "Voteremo No a #Referendum perché #taglioparlamentari è pura demagogia. Tutti, destra e sinistra, hanno votato la legge voluta da Di Maio. Tutti, ad eccezione di @Piu_Europa, hanno dimostrato di essere subalterni al populismo dei 5 Stelle. Ora No a referendum confermativo!" (Tweet) (in Italian) – via Twitter.
  26. "Sono pochi i partiti e i movimenti che si sono già "messi al lavoro" in vista della tornata referendaria del 29 marzo". Prima Monza (in Italian). 12 February 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  27. "TAGLIO PARLAMENTARI: I SEI ELETTI ALL'ESTERO FIRMANO PER IL REFERENDUM". Agenzia Internazionale Stampa Estero (in Italian). 19 December 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  28. "Sanza, il taglio dei parlamentari è l'ennesima battaglia per "indorare" l'opinione pubblica". Il Centro Democratico (in Italian). 10 October 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  29. "Russo Spena: Votiamo no al referendum costituzionale del 29 marzo 2020". Rifondazione.it (in Italian). 13 February 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  30. "La Democrazia Cristiana aderisce al "Comitato per il NO" al taglio dei parlamentari". Sito Ufficiale della Democrazia Cristiana (in Italian). Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  31. "La Democrazia prima di tutto". Il Partito Comunista Italiano (in Italian). 30 January 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  32. "Taglio dei parlamentari, verso il referendum schieramenti in campo" (in Italian). Rai News. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  33. "Appello di laici e religiosi sul referendum. Votare No per respingere lo "sfregio alla democrazia costituzionale"" [Vote No to reject the “affront to the constitutional democracy”] (in Italian). 8 July 2020. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020.
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