The motley crew behind the appeal against the electoral law sets off

An army, rather than a regular force, born out of the previous battle for the ‘No’ vote in the referendum on justice: a Brancaleone-style army proud to be just that, in the name of the shared struggle against the Stabilicum or Melonellum, comprising constitutional experts, lawyers and ordinary and extraordinary citizens acting as appellants. The MPs who fought in Parliament, on the other hand, “are passing the baton to civil society, in a sort of relay race”, says Democratic Party MP Simona Bonafé, the PD’s group leader on the Constitutional Affairs Committee: a race taking place simultaneously across 30 courts. Timing is everything: the aim, in fact, is to secure a ruling from the Constitutional Court before the vote (“if we’re lucky”, joke the organisers). Coordinated by a technical trio comprising constitutional experts Roberto Zaccaria and Enrico Grosso and lawyer Pietro Adami (along with a team of volunteer colleagues across Italy), the aforementioned 400 claimants are standing by, backed by a fundraising campaign to cover any legal costs should they be ordered to pay. The key date is 26 October 2026, the day the law comes into force – the ‘zero hour’. The idea is that, statistically, in one of the thirty courts, there will be a judge who will deliver a ruling in time for the Constitutional Court to issue a decision before the vote.

The key figures include, among others, Lucia Annunziata, Pierluigi Bersani, Fausto Bertinotti, Rosy Bindi, Stefano Bonaga, Massimo D’Alema, Massimo Giannini, Monica Guerritore, Marisa Laurito, Gad Lerner, Mario Morcone, Tomaso Montanari, Stefano Passigli, Armando Spataro, Romano Prodi and Sandro Ruotolo (and these are just a few of the many ‘big names’). Alongside them are Articolo 21 and the Demo Foundation, led by Democratic Party MP Gianni Cuperlo, plus a host of associations and the CGIL trade union as an external supporter. The key issues to be brought before the court will concern the majority bonus, the autonomy of electoral constituencies, the bonus calculated on a national basis even in the Senate; freedom of vote and the selection of elected representatives; equal access and gender equality; the mandatory nomination of a candidate for Prime Minister; and access to the electoral contest (the famous – or infamous – 6,000 signatures). “The law,” says Zaccaria on behalf of the Network for Free and Equal Voting, “is seriously unconstitutional.” The Stabilicum, adds Grosso, is a “Sudoku puzzle”.

According to Maria Elena Boschi, leader of the Iv-Casa Riformista group, “Meloni has crafted an electoral law tailor-made to win the elections, without any real consultation with the opposition. And she has also sacrificed women’s achievements”. “The ‘Melonellum’ upsets the constitutional balance,” says M5S MP Alfonso Colucci. Riccardo Magi, leader of Più Europa, fresh from his hunger strike, reiterates the reasons: the law creates an “insurmountable barrier” for parties wishing to stand without already having a presence in Parliament. “This undermines genuine representation,” says Filiberto Zaratti of AVS. And so a very broad anti-bill coalition is taking shape with ease (“if only it were the same for everything else,” sighs a Democratic Party MP).