Italian lawmakers back policy to reduce their number
Posted October 08, 2019 7:00 am
ROME (AP) - Italy's parliament has approved to cut the number of lawmakers, an overhaul that has been advocated by the anti-establishment 5-Star movement.
The reform - approved Tuesday by 553 votes to 14 - will cut the total number of lawmakers by almost a third, from 945 to 600. It was a flagship measure promised by the anti-establishment 5-Stars, which in August forged an uneasy ruling coalition with the country's centre-left Democrats.
The 5-Stars have always pledged to tackle wasteful spending and say the cut will deliver savings of 300,000 euros ($330,000) a day.
Italy has the second-highest number of lawmakers in Europe after the U.K., with 630 elected lawmakers in the lower house and 315 in the Senate.
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