In polls for the parliamentary elections in Italy, the candidate for the post-fascists, Meloni, is clearly ahead. In the event of a victory, the right-wing parties want to change the constitution and install a presidential system. The President would be given significantly more power, and Parliament would be limited in its options.
Italy’s right-wing parties want to change the constitution if they win the elections and introduce a presidential system of government like that in France or the USA. This was confirmed by Silvio Berlusconi from the Forza Italia party in a radio interview. He caused a stir with the comment that President Sergio Mattarella would then have to resign.
Political opponents reacted with outrage at the statement by Berlusconi, whose centre-right alliance with favorite Giorgia Meloni of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia is clearly ahead in polls for the September 25 general election. For the Social Democrats, Berlusconi’s comment was proof of how dangerous the right is for Italy. Center candidate Carlo Calenda said Berlusconi is no longer himself. Former Five Star Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte claimed the centre-right bloc has now shed its mask.
Lead candidate Meloni from the post-fascist Fratelli has been in favor of a presidential system in which the head of state and government is elected directly by the people and not, as is currently the case, by parliamentarians. Because of the traditionally fragile majority in Rome, this election process is often opaque. It is not uncommon for the parties to be unable to find a solution, so that – as is currently the case with Mario Draghi – an outsider is appointed prime minister. The election of the head of state at the beginning of this year also dragged on for days before the actually unwilling Mattarella was persuaded to a second term as a compromise solution. Mattarella is a respected person in Italy.
After the criticized interview, Berlusconi quickly sought clarification. “I have neither attacked President Mattarella nor called for his resignation,” the 85-year-old wrote on Facebook. He merely said that before the head of state was directly elected for the first time, the old one had to resign. The former prime minister added that he, Mattarella, could be re-elected.
