30.03.2026, Rome.
The failure of the constitutional referendum exposed the vulnerability of Giorgia Meloni’s government in Italy, Rossa Primavera News Agency Europe Desk wrote on March 29.
Meloni’s government is pushing forward changes to electoral legislation, promoting the controversial “Stabilicum” project. Officially, the initiative is presented under slogans of combating Italy’s chronic governmental instability through a “majority bonus”: the coalition that gains 40% of the vote (or wins in a second round) would secure an absolute majority of seats in parliament. However, the true motives behind the urgent adjusting of electoral legislation are driven by fear of losing power.
The failure of a key government initiative – the constitutional referendum on judicial issues in which 54% of Italians voted “against” with unexpectedly high turnout – has revealed the growing political vulnerability of Meloni and the erosion of her coalition’s ratings. Faced with the threat of losing voter confidence amid a stagnating economy, the current government is urgently seeking to rewrite the rules in its favor.
By setting the threshold for full parliamentary control at 40% and adding a second-round safety mechanism, the government is creating “armor” for itself. This could allow it to retain power in 2027 even with a significant decline in actual public support.
After suffering a painful defeat in the nationwide vote in March, Meloni’s team no longer wants to take risks and intends to legislatively “cement” its position in future elections, while also pushing inconvenient centrist parties out of the political field.
For the opposition – primarily the Democratic Party and the Five Star Movement – this law has become a red line. Encouraged by their unexpected triumph in the March referendum, the center-left has sensed the prime minister’s weakness and openly calls the project an attempt at an institutional coup by a government losing legitimacy.
The opposition clearly understands whom the second-round mechanism targets: it artificially makes use of their main weakness – fragmentation. While the right-wing coalition is structurally unified, the new law forces left and centrist forces into a harsh ultimatum: either merge into unnatural and unstable mega-blocs long before elections, or accept a guaranteed defeat.
That is why the battle over electoral law in the Italian parliament may now determine who will govern the country for the next five years, when Meloni’s term comes to an end.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
