Abstract

The essay highlights the importance of reasoning, in contrast to populist emotional discourse, in Constitutional amendment. It observes that the reduction of the number of M.P.s, approved last October by the Italian Parliament, lacks of a rational justification; moreover, despite the clarity in formulation, the measure could produce many different effects on the parliamentary organization. The author argues that Italian political parties paradoxically agreed to advance an anti-party issue in order to open a new season of constitutional reforms, and by so doing they overlooked the risk of jeopardizing the dignity of political representation.