By Silvia Marchetti
ROME (MaceNews) – Prime Minister Mario Draghi is facing his first major hurdle since rising to power as coalition differences over proposed justice reform risk destabilizing the ruling coalition, according to party sources.
The reform is expected to land in parliament on Monday for initial debate and be followed by the government’s first vote of confidence, with a large group within coalition ally 5 Stars Movement ready to vote against it. Observers expect the government to survive but emerge weakened as coalition partners remain at odds.
“The goal is to clear this vital reform before the summer break, by early August, in order to avoid entering into a critical, risky phase of political quarreling among us. The 5 Stars are against the reform, the Democrat Party are willing to work on a compromise while the League and minor party Italia Viva don’t want to negotiate with the 5 Stars,” said an official.
“Draghi is stuck in between his own allies, at a very difficult moment, and will have to find a middle text able to satisfy them all. This is the first major crack in his coalition.”
The justice reform, which has been pushed by the European Commission as needed for effective use of more than EUR180 billion Italy will get from the EU’s post-COVID recovery fund, is aimed at introducing structural changes to improve the country’s outdated judicial system.
The reform cuts the length of trials by setting limits for the time it takes appeal courts and the supreme court to rule once they start examining a case that came from a lower court. The only exceptions to the reduced timeframe would be for mafia and corruption cases.
“We are against speeding up trials by cutting their duration but perhaps a compromise could be reached over such lengths and depending on single cases, envisaging exceptions,” said a 5 Stars politician.
One possible solution, according to a Democrat deputy, could be to extend by a year for appeals courts and six months for the supreme court for especially serious or complicated cases. “Brussels has repeatedly asked Italy to cut trial length by at least 25%, we’ve been trying since decades but can’t afford now to fail and lose the EU funds.”
Italy has one of the most sluggish justice systems in Europe. According to the European Commission, Italian civil law cases take over 500 days in the first instance as opposed to 200 days in Germany and 300 in Spain. There are three levels of appeal in the country, and the timeframe between the first and last one can take up to 15-20 years, causing the case to expire after a certain period without having led to any resolution.
Pro-reform coalition sources argued that speeding up trials by introducing a certain duration is a means to ensure that justice is actually made.
Draghi is likely to win the vote of confidence, even if a few allies vote against it. But is likely to come out of it much weaker, and with a deteriorating coalition. The League might not approve of any negotiation with the 5 Stars, and the 5 Stars have already forwarded to parliament over 200 amendments to the bill bound to slow down the approval process.
“This vote of confidence is not good news for markets, it proves our greatest fears. After having secured Europe’s pandemic funds and almost completed the vaccination campaign, which were Draghi’s two top priorities, ruling parties have gone back to bickering,” said a high-level source.
Other than the justice reform, allies are at odds also over an ambitious fiscal reform aimed at curbing taxes for low earners and harmonizing taxation levels.
Sources noted how this first vote of confidence hazardously coincides with Italy soon entering a critical political phase. Starting from August if rising contrasts within the ruling coalition trigger any political crisis, early elections cannot be held.
According to Italy’s constitution, during the so-called ‘white semester’ preceding the end of head of state Sergio Mattarella’s mandate, the president is stripped of his power to shut parliament and call for an early vote.
“A political crisis during the white semester is the worst-case scenario, but were it to happen, Italy would enter into a dangerous deadlock. Parliament and government would need to survive by somehow keeping afloat, trying to strike fragile alliances to continue ruling. It would be catastrophic for the fight against COVID and the adoption of pro-growth measures, let alone investing the EU’s funds,” said a source.