Downsizing the Parliament in Italy: A Missed Constitutional Amendment and Façade Innovation

In September 2020 a referendum on the reduction of the number of lawmakers was held inItaly and almost 70 percent of voters definitively approved it. Accordingly, effective next termof the chambers in 2023, the total number of MPs will be lowered from 945 to 600, more thanone-third. In particular, the Chamber of Deputies will be slashed from 630 to 400 and the Senatefrom 315 to 200. Such a constitutional amendment is a façade innovation as it did not addressthe very question of Italian bicameralism, namely the perfect identity between its chambers.