A new electoral system enjoying broad support in parliament is just a step away, Democratic Party leader Walter Veltroni said on Friday.
Speaking to supporters of his nascent centre-left party in Modena, Veltroni urged other political groups to go the extra mile to achieve a reform accord which would give the country much-needed stability in government.
An agreement on a ''transitional electoral law'' replacing the discredited system now in place was within reach, said Veltroni, who has been trying to broker such an accord for weeks.
''We are a step away from doing it and it only needs a bit of goodwill,'' he said.
Veltroni's remarks came as several politicians on both sides of parliament expressed their support - with more or less enthusiasm - for the so-called 'Bianco' proposal.
This envisages a system in which seats in parliament are distributed by both proportional representation and the 'first-past-the-post' system.
In a bid to prune the thicket of small parties populating the Italian political arena, it would exclude from parliament any parties that won less than 5% of the vote on a national level or 7% in at least one of the five giant voting zones.
Next week could be decisive for Veltroni's efforts to facilitate the introduction of a new electoral law. The Senate's constitutional affairs committee is expected to approve the Bianco draft as a basis for debate.
One of the parties obstructing an accord until now has been the right-wing National Alliance. In a potentially crucial offer, its leader Gianfranco Fini said on Thursday that he would accept the Bianco draft if one change was made.
The draft does not oblige parties to declare their alliance partners before elections take place. Fini insists that pre-election clarity in this area is essential.
Another important event expected next week will be the decision from the Constitutional Court on whether to allow a referendum on the present electoral law to go ahead.
The rush of political activity aimed at agreeing a new law is partly motivated by fears of what will emerge if the referendum goes ahead and its promoters are successful.
Referendum supporters want Italians to approve three changes to the current system. The first two would award an extra packet of parliamentary seats to whichever party won the most votes. At present this packet goes to the winning coalition.
The referendum campaigners believe that this change will encourage small parties to merge into bigger ones.
The third question aims to stop the current practice of high-profile candidates standing in more than one constituency, using their visibility to attract more votes.
If the Constitutional Court approves the referendum, it is expected to be held in the spring. Politicians on both sides are deeply divided on whether a system produced by the effects of the referendum would be workable or not.
But the majority want to avoid the risk and work out a broadly agreed reform in parliament before the referendum takes place.
Despite the apparently high level of support for the initiative, a few observers have quietly said they think it highly unlikely that a full-blown accord will be finalised before the expected referendum.
''I'm sure we'll end up voting,'' said Northern League bigwig Roberto Maroni. ''There's so little time left. It would take a miracle''.
The Bianco draft is bitterly opposed by some of the small parties in Romano Prodi's ruling centre-left coalition. The premier himself has determinedly avoided entering the debate.
