Rome (AFP) — Italy’s prime minister is seeking to revive her government’s fortunes after a damaging referendum defeat with a new electoral reform introduced in parliament on Tuesday.
Reeling from her first major drubbing since taking office in 2022, Giorgia Meloni now wants a win with the new polls system, which could boost her chances of reelection next year.
Though the coalition government has a comfortable majority in parliament, last week’s justice reform referendum loss undermined Meloni’s authority and destabilized her allies.
“Meloni is in trouble and is showing undeniable signs of weakness,” Giovanni Orsina, political scientist at Rome’s Luiss University, told AFP.
The resignations of two ministers have not stopped speculation over the government’s future, with commentators suggesting Meloni may even be forced to trigger early elections, to take advantage of a divided left.
Though she has repeatedly vowed to serve until 2027, Meloni could resign once the electoral law is adopted, sparking a ballot in October.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, head of the far-right League, vowed Monday the government would “reach the end of its term without any doubts or hesitation,” though he is weakened by a split within his party.
Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani’s center-right Forza Italia, the driving force of the referendum, is also under strain.
Meloni’s office refused a request for comment.
Orsina thought the prime minister’s resignation “highly improbable,” but said the challenge now is to stop the political “snowball effect” triggered by the defeat.