Ústavní reforma středopravé koalice: federální Itálie?
Constitutional Reform of the Centre-Right Coalition: Towards a Federal State?

Summary/Abstract: In November 2005 the Italian Senate in the last voting approved with the votes of the governing centre-right coalition the largest constitutional reform that modifi es the whole Second Part of the republican Constitution from 1948. One of the most important aims of the reform accented by the Silvio Berlusconi’s government and wanted especially by one of its components – the Northern League – is the transformation of the form of the state and the final introduction of the federal framework in Italy. To ensure this aim the reform introduces new measures e. g. the transformation of the Senate into the Federal Senate of the Republic, “federalization” of other constitutional institutions and the modifi cation of the Title 5 of the Constitution concerning the legislative powers of the Regions. The content of the reform which is a result of almost five years lasting conflicts and reflects the tensions inside the heterogeneous centre-right coalition was completely refused by the opposition. Some of its parts are considered to be rather controversial (on the first place so called devolution – project elaborated by the Northern League and its leader Umberto Bossi) and are subjects of the wide criticism. The centre-left coalition has already announced the intention to ask for the referendum according the article 138 of the Constitution in which would be decided about the reform in a definitive way.

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