Marcello Pera withdrew his amendment to the premiership on the opposition statute which provided for the figure of the "Head of the Opposition", on the model of the shadow prime minister of the English model. The decision was announced in yesterday's evening session of the Senate Constitutional Affairs Committee.
On the amendment, the rapporteur Alberto Balboni and the minister Maria Alberti Casellati initially deferred to the opinion of the Commission. However, as unanimity and opposition did not emerge between the opposition itself, Balboni asked Pera to withdraw it and transform it into an agenda for the Chamber.
"Since the political prerequisites for a unanimous vote no longer exist - Pera explained today when questioned by journalists - I preferred to withdraw it and transform it into an agenda". The amendment established that "the Head of the Opposition is elected, on the basis of a programmatic statement, by the members of Parliament who have declared that they belong to the opposition. He is heard by the President of the Republic and by the President of the Council in cases of war and of grave danger to national security, as well as in other cases provided for by law. The regulations of the Chambers regulate the methods of election and powers, in particular with reference to the formation of the agenda of the Chambers. The regulations also determine the powers of other parliamentary opposition groups".
During the debate in the Commission, the opposition, despite appreciating the intention of the amendment, declared themselves against it. Dario Parrini of the Democratic Party underlined that the opposition amendments that would have really created counterweights to the elected prime minister had been rejected, such as the possibility of direct appeal to the Constitutional Court, counterweights that could not come from the figure of the shadow prime minister. Alessandra Maiorino (M56) also highlighted the rejection of incisive proposals on this issue of the opposition. Peppe De Cristofaro (Avs) resorted to irony: "I am already against the concept of the Chief, and the elective prime minister, who at least won the elections, let alone the leader of the opposition, who also lost the elections".