Mariotto Segni, more often known as Mario, (born May 16, 1939 in Sassari

Sassari

Sassari is an Italian city. It is the second-largest city of Sardinia in terms of population with about 130,000 inhabitants, or about 300,000 including the greater metropolitan area...

) is an Italian politician, son of Antonio Segni

Antonio Segni

Antonio Segni was an Italian politician who was the 35th Prime Minister of Italy , and the fourth President of the Italian Republic from 1962 to 1964...

, one time President of the Republic of Italy.

A long-time member of Christian Democracy

Christian Democracy (Italy)

Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....

, he was first elected regional councillor in 1967 and then he was deputy from 1983 to 1996.

In 1992 he founded the Populars for the Reform

Populars for the Reform

The Populars for the Reform was a Christian-democratic and liberal political party in Italy.It was founded in 1992 by Mario Segni as a split from Christian Democracy. The main goal of the party was electoral reform from proportional representation to a first-past-the-post system...

, whose principal aim was electoral reform from proportional representation

Proportional representation

Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...

 to a first-past-the-post

First-past-the-post

First-past-the-post voting refers to an election won by the candidate with the most votes. The winning potato candidate does not necessarily receive an absolute majority of all votes cast.-Overview:...

 system, and the Patto Segni

Patto Segni

Patto Segni was a Christian-democratic and liberal political party in Italy, named after Mario Segni.-History:The party was founded in 1993 as a split from Democratic Alliance and as the continuation of the Populars for the Reform, a split from Christian Democracy in 1992, whose principal aim was...

 in 1993.

He was candidate for Prime Minister for the centrist alliance Pact for Italy

Pact for Italy

The Pact of Italy was a centrist electoral coalition in Italy, launched by Mario Segni and Mino Martinazzoli in 1994....

 (composed of Italian People's Party

Italian People's Party (1994-2002)

The Italian People's Party was a Christian democratic political party in Italy-History:The party emerged as the successor to Christian Democracy in January 1994...

 and Patto Segni) in 1994 and MEP from 1994 to 1995.

In 1999 he was elected MEP on a National Alliance

National Alliance (Italy)

National Alliance was a conservative political party in Italy.Gianfranco Fini was the leader of the party since its foundation in 1995, however he stepped down in 2008 after being elected to the nominally non-partisan post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and was succeeded by...

-Patto Segni list.

In 2003 he refounded the Patto Segni, naming it Pact of Liberal Democrats

Pact of Liberal Democrats

The Pact of Liberal Democrats is a liberal and Christian-democratic Italian political party.It was conceived in 2003 by Mario Segni, Carlo Scognamiglio Pasini and Michele Cossa , as a centrist party alternative to the centre-left...

.

At the present, Mario Segni is in the spotlight for proposing, along with Professor Giovanni Guzzetta, Arturo Parisi

Arturo Parisi

Arturo Parisi is an Italian politician, leader of the Ulivist faction of the Democratic Party and four-time member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies...

, Antonio Martino

Antonio Martino

Antonio Martino is an Italian politician, who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and Italian Minister of Defense from 2001 to 2006. He is a founding member of Forza Italia, holding party card no. 2.-Career:...

 and Daniele Capezzone

Daniele Capezzone

Daniele Capezzone is a centre-right Italian politician.He currently is the spokesman for the People of Freedom.From July 14, 2001 to November 4, 2006, he was secretary of the Italian Radicals, a liberal, pro-market economy, libertarian movement associated with the Transnational Radical Party...

, a referendum aimed at changing the electoral system. If this referendum takes place and succeeds, Italy will be close to a two-party political system, as the party which comes first in the election, whatever is its score, will be returned in the Chamber of Deputies with 340 MPs out of 630.