Italy's facilitators deliver reform agenda to end political impasse

The 10 facilitators that Italian President Giorgio Napolitano charged with preparing an agenda of reforms to achieve cross-party consensus and overcome the deadlock in the formation of a new government delivered their report on Friday.The proposals included a new voting system instead of the much-criticized current one that failed to produce a clear winner in the inconclusive Feb. 24-25 national election.The experts said the Italian parliamentary system of two equally powerful houses, by which all laws must be approved, was "one of the reasons for our institutional difficulties in functioning."They suggested that confidence votes and final votes on bills only take place in the lower house, while the Senate becomes an assembly representing regional governments.Regarding the public funding of political parties, that many have blamed for huge corruption scandals, they said that it was "an indispensable factor for democratic competition and to prevent private wealth from improperly impacting political activity."The experts also said that Italy needs a law on conflicts of interest and proposed taking the power to decide on the eligibility of lawmakers from parliament and giving it to "an independent, impartial judge."They stressed that the next government should quickly boost social safety nets to tackle deepening unemployment and poverty, adding the tax system should be made more responsive to the difficult economic times and aging population.Among the 10 experts, there were the former president of Italy's Constitutional Court, Valerio Onida, and the head of national statistics institute Istat Enrico Giovannini as well as economists and politicians belonging to the main forces in parliament.