A controversial bill for a new
election law passed the first six key votes in the Senate on
Wednesday, as the opposition anti-establishment 5-Star Movement
(M5S) staged a big protest rally outside the Pantheon.
The first four votes were confidence votes, while the fifth
was a normal electronic vote. The sixth was a confidence vote
again.
A final vote has been set for Thursday, and will also not be
a confidence vote.
Article 1 of the so-called Rosatellum was approved with 150
votes in favour and 61 against, while article 2 went through
with 151 votes in favour and 61 against, article 3 by 148 votes
to 61, article four by 150 to 60, and article six by 145 to 17.
The support of the ALA group, led by Silvio Berlusconi's
former top aide Denis Verdini, was key to the passage of the
votes.
The bill, which has cleared the Lower House, is fiercely
contested by the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S), which
argues it is designed to prevent it from winning next year's
general election, and several smaller groups.
The M5S has accused the ruling Democratic Party (PD) and
Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI) of "aggravated fraud" over
the bill.
The M5S met outside the Pantheon to protest the bill
Wednesday, with founder Beppe Grillo fulminating against it in
the name of the "whole Italian people".
Grillo said he was "here for the Italian people" as he
arrived on a stage erected outside the iconic ancient Roman
temple to all the gods.
"Lower your banners, we are fighting a battle for all the
Italian people," said Grillo, a comedian-turned-politician who
recently turned the leadership of the movement over to Lower
House Deputy Speaker Luigi Di Maio.
Grillo said "we weren't able to stage a protest outside the
Senate because they were afraid of us".
He went on: "Let them do what they want, let them rig the
election law, we shall overcome."
He said the victory in next year's general election would be
preceded by a win in the November 5 regional elections in
Sicily.
Grillo, Di Maio and the other M5S heavyweight, Alessandro Di
Battista, put blindfolds over their eyes to protest against the
election law and how it was being rammed through parlaiemnt by
confidence votes.
The M5S supporters - estimated by the M5S to be over 4,000 -
in the square did the same.
Grillo thanked the demonstrators who had come from all over
Italy and the M5S Senators, who he said were "incredible,
they're angrier than me".
He rebuffed criticism of Rome Mayor Virgina Raggi, saying
"Rome is so clean that I've had to dirty it myself".
Di Battista warned President Sergio Mattarella not to sign
the Rosatellum election-law bill into law, saying he had
"already signed an unconstitutional bill, the Italicum, he's
already been wrong once".
"He should be very careful not to sign another
unconstitutional law. I hope he thinks about it very, very
well".
Earlier ex-president Giorgio Napolitano told the Senate othat
he would vote in favour of the confidence votes but he also
stressed that he deemed it wrong to press Premier Paolo
Gentiloni to put the bill to a confidence vote to help get it
through parliament in time for it to be used for elections next
year.
"I judged it unusual and extremely improper to make the
responsibility of a confidence vote that guarantees the
intangibility of a proposal agreed on by several parties weigh
on the premier," the former head of state said.
He said that Gentiloni had been subjected to "strong
pressure".
Napolitano added that he was going to vote yes to the
confidence votes for the sake of "stability" but warned that
"rapidity must not compress the role of parliament" and said the
"dilemma is not confidence or not but whether it is straining"
democracy.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
