A deal between Italy’s main political parties on electoral reform unraveled on Thursday, leading to calls for a snap election that could usher in more instability in the euro zone’s third largest economy. Two major opposition parties, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the right-wing Northern League called for an immediate vote, and the ruling Democratic Party (PD) said it now seemed hard for the government to carry on. An accord in favor of a proportional representation voting system based on the German model collapsed after the PD lost a parliamentary vote on a minor, proposed amendment.
… The parties agreed to take the legislation back to a parliamentary committee to resume the negotiations, but comments from leaders held out little hope of progress.
“There is no chance of starting all over again. The legislature should end here with immediate elections,” said 5-Star Deputy Luigi Di Maio, widely expected to be the movement’s candidate for prime minister at the forthcoming ballot.
Upping the pressure for an early election, the PD’s parliamentary party leader Ettore Rosato said he did not know how the center-left coalition, which is itself split over the reform, could hold together following Thursday’s rupture.
Full Article: Pressure builds for early Italy vote after electoral reform deal unravels | Reuters.