Italian politics turned on its head with Renzi- Berlusconi pact The rising star of Italian politics got a vital assist from a fading Silvio Berlusconi to hatch a sweeping reform package that is now being hailed even by usually sceptical commentators as the best chance in decades to end the country's chronic political instability. Matteo Renzi, 39, the leader of the centre-left Democratic party, cleared a key early hurdle on Monday night when he won support for his package from the party's national committee. Long battles lie ahead in parliament before the reforms see the light of day and already some experts question their constitutionality. Nonetheless, political dynamics have been suddenly turned on their head by a pact forged between Mr Renzi and Mr Berlusconi, still the centre-right's influential leader despite his expulsion from parliament over his criminal conviction for tax fraud. "Berlusconi sees in Renzi the character of his youth, ready for change and to go ahead without fear," commented a centre-right parliamentarian close to the 77-year-old former prime minister. They like each other. Mr Renzi would not go that far, but in presenting his reform proposals to his party on Monday evening, he said Mr Berlusconi was a "reality" as opposition leader who could not be ignored. He thanked him for entering the Democratic party's headquarters last Saturday - with an egg splattered on his car - to negotiate their pact. Mr Renzi's risky breaking of what amounts to a party taboo and his brash manner of delivery have already opened up splits among the Democrats. Gianni Cuperlo, a leftwinger who came a distant second to the reformist Mr Renzi in a primary vote for the party's top position of secretary last month, resigned as chairman on Tuesday. Italy has had more than 60 governments since 1945 and only one - led by Mr Berlusconi from 2001 to 2006 - has survived its full five-year term in office. The last elections in February 2013 resulted in a hung parliament and, after two months of deadlock, a fragile left-right coalition government with Enrico Letta, former deputy leader of the Democrats, as prime minister. Political instability is often cited by Brussels and foreign investors as the greatest risk facing Italy as it labours to emerge from a deep double-dip recession. The three-part package agreed by Mr Renzi and Mr Berlusconi would guarantee a government with a clear majority. The new electoral law would retain a system based on proportional representation, but would give any party winning 35 per cent of the vote an automatic 53 per cent of seats. There would be a second round run-off if no party or coalition reached the 35 per cent threshold. Separate constitutional changes would lead to a single chamber system by stripping the senate of its legislative powers, as well as strengthening the central government at the expense of the regions in certain strategic sectors, such as energy and transport. The radical proposals have enhanced Mr Renzi's image as a can-do politician intent on moving from his post as mayor of Florence to replacing Mr Letta as prime minister. "He has demonstrated that, if there were any doubts, that leadership counts, that things can be done in politics if there is someone to push and pull," La Stampa, a Turin daily, said in an approving front-page commentary. They might also give Mr Berlusconi a new lease of life. Opinion polls show centre-left and centre-right running neck and neck at just under 35 per cent, and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement - which refuses to contemplate coalitions - trailing at about 20 per cent. An important element of the proposals is to raise significantly the threshold of votes needed for smaller parties and coalitions to enter parliament, effectively forcing them to negotiate pre-electoral pacts with either the Democrats or Mr Berlusconi's Forza Italia. Keeping closed lists of candidates - where voters can only chose a party not a candidate - also strengthens the hands of party barons like the billionaire Mr Berlusconi. Mr Berlusconi had been calling for snap elections this May since he pulled Forza Italia out of the coalition government in November in anger at his expulsion from the senate. But the year or so needed to pass the reforms not only gives Mr Letta a breathing space to guide Italy out of its longest postwar recession but presents Mr Berlusconi more time to rebuild his party. The former prime minister, who is awaiting a court ruling to determine if he can serve a one-year sentence through community service, is hoping that the European Court of Human Rights will lift his ban on running for elected office again. Failing that he has more time to prepare his as yet unnamed successor to challenge Mr Renzi - possibly his daughter Marina.