WTI Magazine #42    2014 September, 3
Author : Francesca Papasergi      Translation by:

Summer is going to end in 20 days, and even if it hasn't been as warm as usual till now, the Italian Parliament had a very sweaty August. The Senate is going to change. On August 8th, the "Boschi Reform" got its first approval from the Senate itself. It will take three more lectures – and just as many positive votes, two for each chamber – to modify the current Constitution.

Nowadays, the Senate is an elected assembly of 315 people; in addition, the President of the Republic can appoint five "senatori a vita" (lifetime senators). If the reform will replace the 1948 text, the one hundred senators won't be elected. They will be chosen by local administrations among their members and, allegedly, won't be paid.

The opposition is determined to stop the Boschi Reform, not only because of the lack of representativeness, but also because the reward part is not clear at all. Would the role be covered for free indeed? Or is this just a trick to move costs from the State administration to local ones? The number would fall from 315 to 100, and fewer people mean fewer costs, but if the senators will be paid from the institutions that will choose them, the savings would be much lower than expected.

The reform project can still be reviewed. Even if Mr. Renzi declares that the process won't stop, it won't be realized easily neither. The parliamentary support is not as large as he thought and it could result in a "nothing at all", eventually. It wouldn't be the first time for Italy: the reforms the country needs have been announced for years, but never set up, and Mr. Renzi must take care of the European Union frontline as well. Mrs. Merkel won't just smile and look away. For the first time in years, the German economy is not growing as expected, and the Bundeskanzlerin is not going to sit in the corner and watch. Maybe Germany will understand that Mrs. Merkel's receipts – the ones that brought weaker countries on the brick of bankrupt – aren't working anymore for Germany itself, and Italy is supposed to lead the Union until December.

Summer wasn't that good, but Italy is going to have a very hot fall, for sure.