2020 constitutional referendum on parliamentary cut: how it works

Referendum without a quorum

a constitutional referendum, so no quorum is foreseen. The participation does not matter: if the s wins, the reform on the reduction of parliamentarians enters into force; if he does not win, he is rejected. Four jacks are enough: if three are for the s, the s wins (or vice versa). There will only be one question in the form and only two answers are expected (Y or No): Approved the text of the constitutional law on “Amendments to articles 56, 57 and 59 of the Constitution on reducing the number of parliamentarians”, approved by Parliament and published in the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic no. 240 of October 12, 2019?.

What if the s

The sd gives the green light to the reduction of the number of parliamentarians, with the modification of articles 56 and 57 of the Constitution. a linear cut, which does not affect the functions of the Chamber and Senate (equal bicameralism): the number of deputies goes from the current 630 to 400, that of elected senators from 315 to 200. Figures that include parliamentarians elected abroad: with the reform 8 deputies (today there are 12) and 4 senators (today there are six).

The court of parliamentarians

In short, the House and Senate are down by just over a third (by 36.5% if you want to be picky). Today there is one deputy for every 96 thousand inhabitants, with the cut it would be one for 151 thousand. Today one senator sits in Palazzo Madama for every 188 thousand inhabitants, with the cut there would be one for every 302 thousand. And here we come to the first node of the debate: are they few, are they many? Can a senator go from representing a population of 188,000 to 302,000? Is there a magic representation formula? How does it work abroad? Here is a table with some examples.

Of course, Germany has more than 83 million inhabitants, Spain less than 48 million: these are differences that must be taken into account if we want to make comparisons. The Montecitorio study office has made a comparison with other European countries, taking into account only the lower chambers (such as that of deputies, the German Bundestag and the British House of Commons), since the upper chambers have selection procedures . and functions that vary from country to country (different, for example, not voting for confidence in the government).

How much do you save by cutting parliamentarians?

Among the main themes of the campaign, on which the S front insists, there is also the node of savings: by cutting the seats, the scissors will actually fall by 315 salaries. The remuneration of parliamentarians varies, there is the base salary and there is the daily allowance, office allowances and other items. We can consider an average compensation, including reimbursements, of 19 thousand euros and broken for a deputy and a little more, between 20 and 21 thousand euros, for a senator (in the budgets of the Chamber and the Senate you can get an average of about 230 thousand euros of annual remuneration for deputies and 250 thousand euros for senator). This leads to annual savings of 53 million in the house and of 29 million in the Senate. The Observatory of public accounts led by Carlo Cottarelli pointed out that, however, it is also important to consider the net figures. Part of the compensation returns to the state in the form of taxes: calculated on the net salary, the savings would be 37 million for the House and 27 for the Senate. On the other hand, we can think of a reduction in other general expenses (office management, stationery to telephones, funds to groups, etc.) that are more difficult to quantify (according to some estimates, it is around 30 million).

The differences in the territories

The linear cut, the effects vary from region to region. The differences can be seen in the graph. In the Chamber, however, the picture is quite homogeneous: for some regions, such as Basilicata, Molise and Umbria, the cut of around 33%, for others it reaches 39%; in Abruzzo there is one deputy for every 145 thousand inhabitants, in Liguria a little less (one for every 157 thousand). In the Senate, the cutting scissors have wider movements: Veneto, for example, loses 33% of those elected, Basilicata 57%.

The Senate elected on a regional basis and today the Constitution provides a minimum number of seats for each territory: seven senators for each region (except two for Molise and one for Valle d’Aosta). If the s wins, the minimum number will be 3 senators per region. or autonomous province. The minimum quota planned for Basilicata and Umbria, 4 senators will have Friuli Venezia Giulia and Abruzzo, 5 Liguria, Marche and Sardinia. The differences between one region and another are more marked: if Basilicata will have one senator for every 193,000 inhabitants, Abruzzo and Sardinia will have one for every 327 or 328,000. Here’s another heart of the debate: that of representation. For the front no, the smaller regions would not be adequately represented. And not only. Small universities bring with them a natural barrier effect: if three or four seats are up for grabs, only the largest parties pass and everyone else is out, sometimes even with double-digit percentages. This too, for non-supporters, weakens representation.

Who voted for the reform

Parliament’s first green light for reform came on February 7, 2019, in the Senate, when the yellow-green majority consisted of 5 Stelle and Lega. To say yes, in the first three votes, there were the Movimento, Lega, Forza Italia (with some distinctions) and Fratelli d’Italia. For final approval – in the fourth parliamentary passage, when the majority had meanwhile changed color and had become the Giallorossi – there were 533 votes in favor in the House (14 against and two abstentions): this time also Pd, Leu and Italy alive.

The positions

Then someone thought about it. As an Italian left, now ranked no. Like many in the Democratic Party, they had called for rectifications to the electoral law and other compensatory reforms that will not arrive before September 20. And also like several of Forza Italia, who consider the populist cut. The front of those who oppose the reform sees, together with the Committee of No, parties ranging from Calenda a + Europa to Rifondazione, passing from the centrists, as well as associations such as Anpi. For the s, the 5 Star Movement, which has made the flag of this court (there is no lack of dissident parliamentarians). As well as the Brothers of Italy and the League (even here with someone against). Currency at the time FI. While the Democratic Party should dissolve the reservation in a few days and embrace the reasons of the s. Italy alive has left freedom of conscience.