Italy parliament votes to slash MP numbers

ROME: Italy´s parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved slashing the number of lawmakers, a move the left-leaning government hopes will help keep the far-right from power. Reducing the number of MPs and senators in Italy by 345 was a flagship manifesto promise of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, which rules in coalition with the country´s centre-left, and promised voters it would tackle political elitism and wasteful spending. The move, linked to broader electoral law reforms, was passed by 553 MPs, with just 14 voting against and two abstentions. “It´s done!” the M5S said on its blog. “Promise kept. Italy currently has the second highest number of lawmakers in the EU after Britain — some 630 elected representatives in the lower house and 315 in the Senate.