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| Italian PM warns he may call confidence vote over same-sex unions | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Italian premier, Matteo Renzi, warned he may call a high-stakes confidence vote in his government to try to break a parliamentary deadlock over civil unions for same-sex couples. | The Italian premier, Matteo Renzi, warned he may call a high-stakes confidence vote in his government to try to break a parliamentary deadlock over civil unions for same-sex couples. |
| “We are at a crossroads,” Renzi told a national assembly of his centre-left Democratic party (PD) on Sunday. “I am ready to call a confidence vote.” | “We are at a crossroads,” Renzi told a national assembly of his centre-left Democratic party (PD) on Sunday. “I am ready to call a confidence vote.” |
| In an unexpected direct intervention in a debate he has largely stayed out of, Renzi said he regarded the legislation to give same-sex couples legal recognition and protection as important as his other reforms of the labour market and the parliamentary decision-making process. | In an unexpected direct intervention in a debate he has largely stayed out of, Renzi said he regarded the legislation to give same-sex couples legal recognition and protection as important as his other reforms of the labour market and the parliamentary decision-making process. |
| If he called a confidence vote, Renzi would run the risk of losing it and having to go to the polls just as he enters his third year since becoming premier via an internal party coup. | If he called a confidence vote, Renzi would run the risk of losing it and having to go to the polls just as he enters his third year since becoming premier via an internal party coup. |
| But with the PD well placed in opinion polls, that would be a less daunting prospect for Renzi than for some of his political rivals. | But with the PD well placed in opinion polls, that would be a less daunting prospect for Renzi than for some of his political rivals. |
| The civil unions bill has stalled in the Italian senate after the opposition Five Star Movement (M5S) last week scuppered a PD bid to accelerate its approval. | The civil unions bill has stalled in the Italian senate after the opposition Five Star Movement (M5S) last week scuppered a PD bid to accelerate its approval. |
| The second chamber of Italy’s parliament is due to resume discussion of the bill on Wednesday, by which time Renzi’s party managers hope to have secured enough cross-party support to get it back on track. | The second chamber of Italy’s parliament is due to resume discussion of the bill on Wednesday, by which time Renzi’s party managers hope to have secured enough cross-party support to get it back on track. |
| At issue is whether the bill contains provisions allowing a partner in a same-sex relationship to adopt the biological child of the other partner. | At issue is whether the bill contains provisions allowing a partner in a same-sex relationship to adopt the biological child of the other partner. |
| Italy’s second biggest party, M5S has faced a significant backlash from its own supporters over its tactics in the senate. | Italy’s second biggest party, M5S has faced a significant backlash from its own supporters over its tactics in the senate. |
| Gay rights groups, some of which demonstrated in Milan on Sunday, have expressed dismay over the deadlock, insisting the draft legislation will be worth little without equal adoption rights. | Gay rights groups, some of which demonstrated in Milan on Sunday, have expressed dismay over the deadlock, insisting the draft legislation will be worth little without equal adoption rights. |
| Opponents of the bill in the senate have filed hundreds of wrecking amendments, most of which aim to remove the adoption provisions. | Opponents of the bill in the senate have filed hundreds of wrecking amendments, most of which aim to remove the adoption provisions. |
| Opinion polls suggest most Italians favour the principle of allowing same-sex unions but indicate a majority are reluctant to extend adoption rights. | Opinion polls suggest most Italians favour the principle of allowing same-sex unions but indicate a majority are reluctant to extend adoption rights. |
| The Catholic church has been extremely active in lobbying politicians on the question to the point of being publicly rebuked for interfering by Renzi earlier this month. | The Catholic church has been extremely active in lobbying politicians on the question to the point of being publicly rebuked for interfering by Renzi earlier this month. |