Italicum, trust and secrecy: the double forcing the vote – International Business Times Italy

Now that the Constitutional Affairs Committee, ‘appropriately’ lightened by dissidents, has passed the Italicum, between Renzi and approval dell’agognata electoral law there is only a vote next week in the House of Deputies.

The minorities have the numbers to torpedo the election law, ‘signing’ the split by Matteo Renzi and cripple the government. But the words that come from this front, as always, are too heterogeneous to think that 100 domestic opponents will vote as one man .

Termination in this sense, the issue of trust . If the government wants to shut yourself with this move, the games seem to be made. For a sense of responsibility towards the government, afraid of the vote, or fear of losing the seat, in many of the 100 will fold.

The second point, which is closely related to the first: the secret ballot. Forza Italy has announced that it will present the request (sufficient that a president of the group to do so or 30 deputies), Reforms Minister Woods appealed to avoid it. But confidence vote by secret ballot and are compatible? According to the regulations of the Chamber (Article 116) “the issue of trust can not be placed on proposals for parliamentary inquiries, changes in regulations and related interpretations or recalls, permission to proceed and verification of elections, appointments, personal facts, disciplinary sanctions and in general on what comply with the terms of the inner workings of the House and on all those matters for which the Rules prescribe voting by show of hands or by secret ballot. “

But the regulations do not” prescribe “nothing on the vote in electoral legislation. The possible scenarios are described succinctly by Courier :” In the first frame, the government does not raise the question of confidence from the start and therefore faces 80 potential secret ballots on the electoral law. But this sounds like science fiction. In the second scenario, the less unlikely, imposes Renzi (after a decision of the Council of Ministers), the issue of trust on the electoral law as soon as you close the general discussion: in this case, the votes of confidence will be three (one for each article of the text except the third that has already been approved in ‘double checked’ by the House and Senate) and the final vote will be secret if requested by 30 deputies or by a single parent. “

The next week you might find in the situation of a double force. The government that raises the question of trust on the electoral law, the oppositions that hide behind a final vote secret to undermine approval of the law itself. Whatever happens, if this is the script, it would be a fitting end to a bad story .