In Montecitorio and Palazzo Madama the traffic is more and more intense. And not so much because of the Christmas season. It is the approach of the appointment for the election of the head of state that seems to favor even more the passage of deputies and senators from one group to another, in a Parliament with perennially revolving doors. With the so-called changes of jersey arrived at the beginning of the legislature at an altitude of 276. And the most clogged lanes are those that arrive or depart from the Mixed group. It is no coincidence that the latest “new entries” in Italia Viva alla Camera, which were announced shortly before Christmas, passed through the “Mixed”: Flora Frate and Maria Teresa Baldini.
History of steps
The first was expelled in January 2020 from the M5S and the news reports moments of approach first to the Radicals and then to Carlo Calenda’s Action. Baldini, on the other hand, last May had formally landed in Coraggio Italia, the formation of Toti and Brugnaro with a lot of group in Montecitorio, arriving from Forza Italia, where she had landed after a break at Mixed in August 2020 following the exit from Fdi in whose ranks she had been elected to Montecitorio. And with these last two moves, at least in chronological order, the “steps” since March 2018 rise to 278, of which 128 in the last year.
Acceleration in 2021
In other words, in 2021 alone, 46% of Group changes took place since the beginning of the legislature, as also emerges from the photograph taken by OpenPolis on 17 December last (when the official movements of parliamentarians were 276, of which 126 in the last twelve months). With non-negligible repercussions on the strength and physiognomy of the individual Groups. As is well known, the Five Star Movement suffered the most from the trafficking of deputies and senators, which before Christmas was reported to have lost 96 parliamentarians, including expulsions. In the ranking of “escapes”, second place goes to Forza Italia (38) and third to the Pd (31). From the analysis of OpenPolis it also emerges that in recent months some dynamics have changed, perhaps also due to the reshuffling of the political framework in view of the convening of the Chambers in joint session in January for the election of Sergio Mattarella’s successor at the Quirinale. For example, since September Fi and Pd have regained one seat each, while the Cinquestelle have continued to lose parliamentarians (two in the last four months). Italia Viva had also lost two, however compensated by the new entries of Frate and Baldini, in the latter case to the detriment of Coraggio Italia. In the last four months, parliamentarians have made 8 operational shifts, net of pre-Christmas announcements.
There are those who repeat themselves
All in fact in line with the trend that has emerged since the start of the legislature, which shows record data in almost all cases. Like that of repeated shirt changes. With 52 deputies and senators passed several times from one group to another from March 2018 to today. So much so that in view of the reform of parliamentary regulations, at this stage, especially in the Senate, there is a discussion on how to trigger the squeeze, complete with sanctions, to stem this phenomenon, visible in all its evidence in the clogging of the Mixed group. Which, with the passing of the months, has swelled out of all proportion in the Chamber as well as in the Senate: at the threshold of the Christmas break the new “members” compared to the initial configuration were 31 in Montecitorio and 38 in Palazzo Madama. Sixty-nine more parliamentarians since the beginning of the legislature, therefore, before the announcement to the Chamber of the passage of Friar to Iv.