Italy's Meloni-led coalition suffers setback as electoral reform amendment fails

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's governing coalition suffered a parliamentary setback Tuesday after a key amendment to the government's proposed electoral reform was defeated by a single vote in a secret ballot.

The amendment, backed by the governing coalition, was rejected 188-187 in the Chamber of Deputies despite the government's push to reintroduce preferential voting while retaining blocked lead candidates, according to ANSA news agency.

Meloni, who had publicly supported the proposal, described the outcome as a victory for "the swamp," saying the government had sought to restore voters' ability to choose their parliamentary representatives.

"We tried, and the swamp won again," she said after the vote.

Meloni also said members of her own coalition had failed to support the amendment and criticized opposition parties for celebrating the result.

The narrow defeat fueled accusations that some lawmakers in the governing bloc had secretly voted against the proposal.

Opposition parties said the vote exposed growing divisions within the coalition and called on the government to take political responsibility.

Former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Meloni had effectively lost the confidence of her own majority, while Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein said the result showed the opposition remained united as the governing coalition fractured during the secret ballot.

Brothers of Italy parliamentary leader Galeazzo Bignami dismissed calls for his resignation, describing the outcome as a parliamentary setback rather than a confidence vote.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also played down the defeat, calling it "a blip along the way" and insisting it would not affect the government's stability.

Senate President Ignazio La Russa said work on the electoral reform would continue in the Senate, where the proposal could still be amended.