Premier Matteo Renzi's
Democratic Party (PD) executive on Monday unanimously approved
his Constitutional reform package, but an internal dissenting
minority did not take part in the vote.
However rebel leader Pier Luigi Bersani - who didn't make
it to the meeting - said that "Renzi seems to have made a
significant opening - if the intent is for voters to choose
Senators and for regional councils to ratify their choice,
that's fine by us".
"Better later than never," he added.
The leftwing dissenters argue that reforming the Senate
into a body of regional officials - as per Article 2 of the
government's bill - is undemocratic, and that Senators should be
elected by the Italian people.
Renzi argued back during the meeting of his party's
executive that electing Senators or not "is an important norm
but is not the watershed of democracy".
"Allow me to disagree when they say democracy is at stake
here, otherwise we'd have to say there's no democracy in Germany
or France," the premier pointed out.
The meeting had been called to thrash out an agreement with
the dissenters over Article 2.
The bill is not the result of a "palace coup", Renzi said,
recalling that the now-defunct Nazarene Pact with former premier
Silvio Berlusconi that first envisaged the reform was conceived
by the PD.
"The fairy tale of a surprise palace coup might be OK for
talk shows but not even children believe it," he said.
The premier went on to compare his government's reforms to
Japan's rugby team.
"The Japanese took their opponents by surprise...and went
all out," he told the meeting.
"They achieved the seemingly impossible, much as the
reforms we have made seemed impossible a year and a half ago".
Japan beat South Africa at the weekend in what was the
biggest upset in rugby World Cup history.
The government is "one step from the finish line, and
anyone who decides to interrupt this process must say so and
explain why," Renzi went on.
"We seek the broadest possible consensus, as long as the
debate...is on the merits...if (this) conceals an attempt to
constantly raise the stakes, let it be known we won't accept
diktats".
Article 2 of the bill now before the Upper House is a "very
small part of the jigsaw" of a much larger Constitutional reform
plan, Renzi said.
"The idea that the PD, every day, is not going public on
issues like immigration, Europe and growth but instead is
quibbling over...amendment X or Y is reductive and frustrating
for our militants and volunteers," he said.
"Do we want to go on debating technical details that could
be solved in 15 minutes or do we want to move ahead with
reforms?" Renzi said.
"Naysayers are a minority in Italy - the country is tired
of self-referential quarrels," he concluded.
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