Centrist Azione party leader Carlo
Calenda said after talks on institutional reforms with Premier
Giorgia Meloni Tuesday that any proposed Constitutional changes
should not touch the Italian president's functions as arbiter of
political life and guarantor of national unity, but he was in
favour of 'indicating' the premier as in mayoral elections.
Meloni has advanced three options: the direct election of th
president as head of government; the direct election of the
president who has supreme power but then names a head of
government, as in France; and the direct election of the premier
as in Britain. She is said to favour the last option.
Meloni has said she is determined to end Italy's string of
'lab-grown' governments which featured unelected leaders and
says she has a popular mandate to do so after her crushing
September election win.
Calenda said after his talks with the PM: "We have defined the
perimeter of intervention: for us there is an absolute red line
that is the figure of the President of the Republic, the only
institution that guarantees national unity, to touch it would be
a serious mistake. We are in favour of the indication of the
President of the Council on the model of the Mayor of Italy".
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