Meloni must accept consequences if she loses referendum

(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 6 - 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Giuseppe Conte said Monday that Premier Giorgia Meloni would have to "accept the consequences" if her government's plan to change the Constitution so that the head of government is directly elected by the people were rejected in a referendum.
    There is a strong possibility that the reform will end up going to a referendum as this is necessary for changes to the Constitution unless they are approved by a majority of two-thirds in parliament.
    The M5S and the other main opposition parties have said they are opposed to the reform.
    "Although Meloni has held up her hands, I think that, if it were to go to a referendum and she lost, she would necessarily have to accept the consequences," Conte said on the sidelines of an event at the Roma Tre university.
    Meloni has said the Constitutional reform would ensure Italy is governed by leaders chosen by the people and would make administrations more stable. Under the current system, parties engage in government-formation talks after a general election and then the coalition that forms a ruling majority in parliament agrees on a figure to propose to the head of State to become premier.
    That figure is not necessarily one of the politicians given by the parties as their premier candidate during the election campaign. (ANSA).