The opposition was caught off-guard when Meloni’s party, the right-wing Brothers of Italy, alongside her coalition partners the center-right Forza Italia and far-right League, negotiated a deal on the law late on Wednesday, bypassing dialogue with the opposition.
The deal comes at a turbulent time for Italy’s political landscape, where the left is attempting to build a coalition and the right is coming under pressure from a new hard-right breakaway party, Futuro Nazionale, that formed after a schism in the League.
Pollsters and analysts have speculated about possible new elections after a constitutional referendum in March, with the economy expected to take a turn for the worse in 2026 as the stimulus effect from the EU’s post-pandemic Recovery Fund fades.
Analysis by polling agency You Trend released Friday predicted that the right-wing coalition would obtain 46 per cent of the vote under the current system, which would secure it 57 per cent of seats if this new bill is passed.
Riccardo Magi of the centrist +Europa party called the bill manipulative and “incoherent” and said on Facebook that the coalition is treating the law “like a suit they want to tailor to their own measurements in order to stay in power.”
Angelo Bonelli of the Green and Left Alliance said in a statement that it was a “clear attempt to manipulate the forthcoming elections” and showed the government was afraid of losing authority if it loses the referendum next month.