Renzi triumphant after Senate reform victory

'No one can stop change' says premier via @matteorenzi account

(ANSA) - Rome, August 8 - The government's controversial Constitutional reform bill, including a revamp of the Senate, completed its first reading in the Upper House on Friday when the floor of the assembly voted to back it. "It will take time, it will be difficult and there will be setbacks," Renzi said via his Twitter account, @matteorenzi, after Friday's vote. "But no one can stop the change that started today". The bill passes to the Lower House after clearing the Senate with 183 votes in favour, four abstentions and no votes against, after parties opposed to the package snubbed the final vote.

Renzi says the bill will overhaul Italy's slow, costly political machinery, responding to dissatisfaction at the ruling class's ineffectiveness in solving the country's economic woes, in fighting corruption and in curbing its many privileges. The central part of the package is the transformation of the Senate into a leaner assembly of local government representatives with minimal lawmaking powers. At the moment the Senate and the Lower House are equally powerful and every piece of legislation has to be approved in both, which can make it difficult for governments to get laws through parliament. The revamped Senate's responsibilities are to be largely restricted to Constitutional matters and its members will not get extra salaries on top of their earnings for the local level jobs.

The new Senate will be made up of 100 members, compared to the present figure of 315, of which five will be life Senators. It also takes some powers from Italy's regional governments, many of which have been guilty of overspending in recent years, and completes the elimination of a whole layer of government - Italy's provinces. Furthermore, it says regions that do not keep their balance sheets in order can be put in the hands of commissioners appointed by central government.

The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S), the leftwing SEL and the anti-migrant Northern League all walked out on Friday's final vote for the first reading. Of those who did not back up the government in the final vote, 16 were dissidents from within Renzi's centre-left Democratic Party (PD), with 14 not taking part in the vote at all and two abstaining. There were also 19 rebels from within Silvio Berlusconi's opposition centre-right Forza Italia (FI), which is backing the bill after the ex-premier struck a deal with Renzi on the reforms and on a new election law.

In addition, there were 10 dissidents from within junior partners in Renzi's ruling coalition - eight from the New Centre Right (NCD) party and two from the For Italy (PPI) group. The M5S and SEL put up staunch resistance to the bill, using filibustering and the presentation of some 7,400 amendments in a vain attempt to slow its progress down. In spite of this, the government achieved what seemed an impossible feat just one week ago - getting the first reading completed before parliament's summer recess begins on Saturday. In order to become law, the bill still needs to complete at least two more readings in both houses of parliament. Renzi has said it will then need to be ratified by a referendum.