Italicum 'not up for discussion' (3)

(ANSA) - Rome, May 27 - Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said Friday his 'Italicum' electoral reform "is not up for discussion". "It will give the election winner the certainty of being able to govern," he told a concluding press conference after the 42nd Group of Seven (G7) summit of leading industrialized nations in Japan. "It is a very simple law, which says the winner gets to govern - which is key in the relationship between elected officials and the people. It also eliminates the risk of permanent back-room deals". He added there is no connection between the Italicum election law, which the government passed last year, and an October referendum on his constitutional reform law, which was passed this year and which would, among other measures, scrap the Senate's equal status to the Lower House and thereby put an end to decades of political gridlock. New laws amending the Constitution must be approved by popular referendum.
    Renzi has staked his political future on its outcome, repeatedly stating he will step down if voters nix his reform.
    Also on Friday, the premier added a jab at internal leftwing dissenters within his own center-left Democratic Party (PD), calling their objections to his election law small-minded compared to what should be "the real debate in the left worldwide (on) freedom and equality".
    On Wednesday, former PD chief Pier Luigi Bersani - who leads a dissenting internal minority - called on Renzi to revise the Italicum to foster party unity is view of the October referendum.