Premier Matteo Renzi told his
Democratic Party (PD) on Thursday that speedy reforms are better
than stagnation.
"Our reform style is not to avoid the kangaroo but the
snail," he said.
Senate Speaker Pietro Grasso has started to apply the
so-called kangaroo rule, which says that the outcome of voting
on one amendment automatically counts for all similar
amendments, in order to speed voting on Renzi's Constitutional
reform bill, which has been bogged down by almost 8,000
amendments filed by its opponents.
This made it possible to knock down over 1,800 of the
amendments on Tuesday and Wednesday, amid furious protests from
opposition Left Ecology Freedom (SEL) and 5-Star Movement (M5S)
lawmakers.
Also on Thursday, Renzi downplayed his government's first
defeat in the Senate, which approved an amendment extending the
responsibilities of the revamped assembly to "ethically
sensitive issues".
The amendment passed in a secret vote, with 154 Senators in
favour, 147 against and two abstentions.
Renzi's Senate revamp bill is under attack by the
opposition, but also by dissidents within his own PD and within
the center-right Forza Italia (FI) party of Silvio Berlusconi,
which co-sponsored the reform.
"I bet others voted against (my bill)," Renzi said.
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