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Ceccanti: Changing Italy’s electoral law is right, but it needs a runoff

From Corriere della Sera · () Italian

Translated from Italian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • Constitutional scholar and Democratic Party figure Stefano Ceccanti argues that Italy should change its electoral law and introduce a national runoff.
  • He says the current proposal, known as the Melonellum, could produce a hung parliament if no coalition reaches the required threshold.
  • Ceccanti proposes a first-round threshold of 48%, with a runoff between the two coalitions that exceed 38%, and warns Italy could face repeated elections if post-election alliances fail.

“Buckle up.” Stefano Ceccanti, a reformist constitutional scholar and Democratic Party figure, sees Italy’s proposed Melonellum electoral law as a route to an ungovernable deadlock rather than a guarantee against a tied result.

Ceccanti agrees with Giorgia Meloni that the current Rosatellum should change. He says it was designed not to produce majorities, with the original intention of recreating a government involving the Democratic Party and Forza Italia. Instead, the Five Star Movement won more votes than the Democratic Party, while the League outpolled Forza Italia, leading to the Conte I government.

Buckle up.

· Stefano CeccantiCeccanti uses the phrase to signal his alarm about the proposed electoral system.

He rejects the idea that the 2022 election offers a reliable model. “What happened in 2022 was accidental and cannot be repeated. There was one strong coalition and the others were divided. But things have changed,” he says. Brothers of Italy is not available for post-election alliances, he argues, and neither is the Democratic Party.

What happened in 2022 was accidental and cannot be repeated. There was one strong coalition and the others were divided. But things have changed.

· Stefano CeccantiHe argues that the political conditions behind the 2022 result no longer exist.

Ceccanti supports a two-round national system. Under a proposal developed by Libertà Eguale and Magna Charta and presented as an amendment by Marcello Pera, a coalition would win in the first round only with 48% of the vote. If no coalition reached that mark, the two coalitions above 38% would face a runoff. If only the leading coalition exceeded 38%, it would receive the bonus in the first round provided it reached 42%.

He says the proposal currently has virtually no chance of passing. The League fears losing votes to Roberto Vannacci in the first round, while the broad opposition camp prefers the Melonellum because polls place it above 42%. Ceccanti warns that primaries could cost it the votes of defeated candidates and that support could also move to the far left. His prediction is stark: if no coalition reaches 42%, Italy could end up with a tie, fail to build post-election alliances and vote again and again.

The disaster.

· Stefano CeccantiHe uses the phrase when asked what he expects if the electoral law produces a deadlocked result.
About this summary

Originally published by Corriere della Sera in Italian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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