Premier Matteo Renzi told
President Giorgio Napolitano that it was possible to achieve
broad support from many political parties on issues related to
the parliamentary procedure for a new election law and changes
to the Constitution to revamp the nation's political machinery.
"The government considers possible - and agreeable to a
wide range of political parties - a procedure that takes account
of the concerns of different parties," a statement by the
president's office read after a meeting on Wednesday.
Renzi's government has presented a new election law and a
Constitutional bill that would revamp the nation's institutions,
transforming the Senate into a leaner assembly of
local-government representatives with limited law-making powers.
Those bills have the backing of ex-premier Silvio
Berlusconi, the leader of the opposition centre-right Forza
Italia (FI) party.
But other opposition parties and minorities within Renzi's
centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and within FI are staunchly
opposed to the reforms, especially the revamp of the Senate.
Indeed, parliament in July was the scene of huge tension
and several ugly scenes as opponents used obstructionism in a
failed bid to prevent the Constitutional reform bill completing
its first reading in the Senate before the summer recess.
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