The main opposition parties to the Italian far-right government Giorgia MelonThey rehearsed their unity this Tuesday by demonstrating in Rome against their reforms that, according to them, “will increase inequalities” and attack the Constitution and “national unity.”
The initiative brought together several hundred people in the central Plaza de los Santos Apóstoles, as well as the leaders of the Democratic Party (PD, social democrat), the 5 Star Movement (M5S), Green and Left Alliance (AVS), More Europe and the unions.
It was an important demonstration for the rivals of Meloni’s government, who seek to join forces against the hegemony of his right-wing coalition, that of his Brothers of Italy, Matteo Salvini’s League and Forza Italia, reinforced in the European elections.
The secretary of the PD, Elly Schlein, made a call in this sense to the rest of the parties: “Enough divisions (…) It is a crucial moment in Italian and European history. Let us prepare, united and compact,” she proclaimed, while the protesters They shouted “unity” and sang the partisan anthem of ‘Bella Ciao’.
Minutes before, Parliament had taken the first step, with a vote in the Senate, in the processing of the ‘premierato’, a controversial constitutional reform with which Meloni aspires to impose the election of future prime ministers at the polls.
To date, the usual practice in Italy has been for the parties to participate in the elections and then the President of the Republic to propose a prime minister based on the results, on several occasions choosing figures or technicians who had not been voted for.
The promoters of the reform, which still has a long parliamentary process ahead, want “Italians to choose who will govern them,” in the words of Meloni, while its detractors warn that the text will diminish the role of Parliament and the head of the State.
On the other hand, The opposition also harshly criticizes the reform of “differentiated autonomy” to give greater powers to the regions, one of the historical claims of the League party for the territories of the rich Italian north.
“No to the ‘premierate’ and differentiated autonomy. We will not allow them to pass. Yes to the defense of the Constitution and anti-fascist Italy,” Schlein proclaimed.
The leader of the M5S, Giuseppe Conte, denounced that Meloni “pays the political price and sells the unity of the country” by promoting autonomy between regions to please his League coalition partners.
“The reform breaks Italy. The most disadvantaged regions in the south will worsen, they will be left further and further behind. Citizens of the north should not fall into the trap because the reform will impoverish them in the medium and long term, when a businessman will find different legislation when changing region,” the former prime minister warned.
Conte also denounced “the arrogance, arrogance and violence” in Parliament after the fight that broke out last week. “I feel bewildered by a prime minister who has not been able to condemn violence,” he told protesters.
Meloni’s right-wing coalition, with its unity, managed to return to the national government in October 2022 and extend its territorial dominance, controlling 14 regions, compared to the left’s 5.
