00:00Is Giorgio Meloni changing Italy's electoral law to stay in power?
00:08Italy's Conservative government recently filed a proposal to overrule the country's electoral system
00:13and opposition parties are sounding the alarm.
00:16They argue the reform is tailor-made to boost Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni's chances of winning a second term
00:21at the next general election, scheduled for 2027.
00:25Under the current rules, Italy uses a mixed system.
00:28About one-third of MPs are elected in first-passed post-constituencies,
00:33while the rest are chosen through proportional representation.
00:36In the 2022 election, the opposition was divided.
00:39The centre-left Democratic Party and the Five-Star Movement failed to form an alliance,
00:44a split that opened the path to power for Meloni's right-wing group.
00:47This time, however, the picture may look different, a broad left-wing coalition could emerge,
00:52and even if Paul suggests it could fall beyond the right on the national level,
00:56strong results in southern Italy could still block a governing majority.
01:00Critics say the ruling party's Brothers of Italy League and Forza Italia want to prevent that,
01:05introducing a fully proportional model with a majority bonus.
01:09Any coalition above 40% of the vote would get extra seats and a guaranteed majority,
01:14but experts warn it could produce different majorities in the two chambers.
01:42The proposal has now been presented to both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate,
01:47where lawmakers are set to begin debating the reform.
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