Electoral law to hit House floor (2)

(ANSA) - Rome, May 30 A bill creating a new German-style electoral law is set to hit the floor of the Lower House Tuesday after an agreement between the ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and the anti-establishment 5-Star movement on a proportional representation (PR) system with an entry bar set at 5% and no winner's bonus.
    Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano, leader of the PD's junior government partner the centre-right Popular Area (AP), attacked the deal saying he did not understand "The PD's impatience to take Italy to the vote three or four months early, in the middle of the budget bill's passage".
    Alfano appealed to the PD and its leader Matteo Renzi, the former premier, to save the economy from losing billions of euros amid a fall in stock prices and a sharp rise in the spread between German and Italian 10-year bonds.
    As for the 5% entry bar, Alfano said the AP would "join with others and get over it".
    Meanwhile ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the centre-right Forza Italia party which has already signalled an OK to the new law, said that "if it was for me I'd put the bar at 8%." Talks between parties will continue today and there will be a PD meeting this afternoon.