According to figures released on 27 July, deputies spent on average 220 hours each, voting on several major laws, such as the reform of divorce, prisons and animal and paternity leave, among others.

With legislative elections scheduled for 14 October, the coalition government faced a race against time to enshrine into law many of the individual party’s election pledges. The parliamentary agenda in the weeks running up to the last public sitting before the elections on 26 July was packed with headline-grabbing bills being passed, such as the legalisation of medical cannabis for specific conditions.

Much of the legislative leg work, however, was done without fanfare, in and around the 646 parliamentary committee meetings that were carried out from September 2017 to July 2018. In total, 3,571 meetings were held in the chamber of deputies, of which 236 were public. During these meetings, 466 bills were introduced and 20 were drafted. Meanwhile, MPs asked 617 parliamentary questions of the government, either orally or via written request.

“We have intense weeks and months behind us. We have succeeded in carrying out the busy programme we have set ourselves,” Parliament president Mars di Bartolomeo (LSAP) said on 27 July.