Politicians praise ruling against ‘pig-sty’ election law

(see previous) (ANSA) – Brussels, December 4 – Praise was unanimous among politicians after the Constitutional Court on Wednesday ruled Italy’s Porcellum or ‘pig-sty’ electoral law was unconstitutional.

“It’s a fantastic ruling,” said Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Angelino Alfano. “Now there are no more excuses, no more alibis for anyone. We must urgently change the election law”. The ruling ups pressure on parliament to change a law widely seen as making election results uncertain, as happened in February’s inconclusive vote.

“The ruling was highly awaited,” Guglielmo Epifani, interim secretary of the center-left Democratic Party, calling on lawmakers to now move towards making the country “more governable”. Beppe Grillo, leader of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, said the ruling delegitimized the current government, which was founded under the current law in April when President Giorgio Napolitano intervened to end a two-month deadlock by forming a left-right coalition with Enrico Letta as its premier.

“The parties, Letta, Napolitano, they’re no longer legitimate…The parliament should be dissolved and the ballot boxes opened. There’s no alternative,” he said. (photo: Beppe Grillo)