The current populist right-wing government in Italy is pushing for a constitutional reform aimed at introducing direct popular election of the prime minister, aligning the majority of MPs with the executive branch. Despite this proposal being in line with current populist tendencies, Lorenzo Spadacini’s lecture will illustrate that it is rooted in much older constitutional schemes. The Acerbo Law of 1923, promoted by Mussolini, followed a similar pattern, and comparable schemes have been reiterated over time, even during the republican period, as can be seen in the so-called Fraud Law of 1953, the law for municipalities of 1993, and the constitutional law for regions of 1999. Moreover, reform proposals similar to those advocated by the political right nowadays have been supported in the past by the centre and the left. In essence, the constitutional populism currently expressed by the right is more widely spread in Italian political culture and persists over time, arguably due to the weak liberal tradition of the country’s political system.

Prof. Lorenzo Spadacini is an esteemed Associate Professor at the University of Brescia, specializing in Italian and European constitutional law. He holds a PhD from the University of Verona and a Law degree from the University of Brescia. Prof. Spadacini has served as a Visiting Scholar at Cornell University Law School and held the position of Head of the Department for Institutional Reforms at the Office of the Prime Minister of Italy. His research focuses on democratic representation, electoral systems, and regional autonomy. Notable works include the monograph Decreto-legge e alterazione del quadro costituzionale (2022).

The event was organized in cooperation with Dr. Fabian Michl, Assistant Professor for Public Law and the Law of Politics at the Faculty of Law, Leipzig University.