PD, FI, M5S working on election law deal

(ANSA) - Rome, May 29 - The ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD), the centre-right opposition Forza Italia (FI) party and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) are working on a compromise for a new electoral law that could pave the way for early elections, political sources said Monday.
    Italy is set for a crunch week on an election law that may lead to elections this autumn, they said.
    Ex-premier and PD leader Matteo Renzi said a deal is possible this week with ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's FI and comedian Beppe Grillo's M5S on a German-style proportional-representation (PR) model with an entry bar set at 5%.
    FI has already come out in favour of the German model and yesterday M5S voters voted online to back it too.
    On Sunday evening Grillo said he was however against "compromises" and any "horse trading" with the other leading forces.
    The anti-euro, anti-immigrant Northern League attacked: "The 'Germanellum' is a shady-deal law".
    But League leader Matteo Salvini said "anything is okay as long as we vote immediately".
    FI bigwig Renato Brunetta, a former finance minister, responded by saying another previously touted law, the PD's half-PR and half first-past-the-post 'Rosatellum', was "not a c A PD bigwig and Renzi confidant, Transport Minister Graziano Delrio, said "we have to bring the forces together to frame common rules for all".
    Another PD figure very close to Renzi, Agriculture Minister and deputy PD chair Maurizio Martina, said "the objective is the maximum possible agreement".
    Small parties have come out against the 5% entry bar, which they say is too high and will block them - although the Progressive and Democratic Movement (MDP), a PD splinter group, reckon they will be able to make it. Tuesday will see a key meeting of the PD to assess progress on the law and possibly give a green light to a pact with FI and the M5S.
    On Monday PD and M5S Lower House delegations met to discuss a possible agreement.
    After the meeting, PD House Whip Ettore Rosato said the 20-minute talks had gone "well". Elections in the autumn, instead of at the end of the parliamentary session's natural term in February 2018, will pose the risk of needing extraordinary administration for next year's budget, or an early approval of it, pundits say.
    The PD is already gearing up to cope with this eventuality, sources in the party said.