Italy's lower house of parliament, including members of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's party, on Thursday, December 21, rejected an opposition motion to approve a reform of the eurozone's bailout fund. But it is likely that Meloni's hard-right government will come back with its own proposal for ratification, with some conditions, analysts said.

Italy is the only country that has not yet ratified a 2021 reform of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), which strengthened the fund's financial firepower and increased its authority to supervise countries in difficulty.

Meloni's coalition government is torn between deep suspicion of the ESM and pressure from European Union allies to green-light an deal that cannot be implemented without approval of all national parliaments.

Thursday's vote was on a motion for ratification presented by members of the center-left opposition Democratic Party. "What we expect to see now is an initiative from the ruling coalition," said analyst Wolfango Piccoli from Teneo political risk consultancy. "I expect them to put forward a motion with a condition that would make a vote in parliament necessary to activate it. "The government is looking for a way for Meloni to save face, to spin it as some sort of victory."

Meloni's post-Fascist Brothers of Italy party voted against the opposition motion on Thursday, as did the far-right League party of Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. The third party in their governing coalition, the late Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing Forza Italia party, abstained. The motion was rejected by 184 votes, with 72 in favor and 44 abstentions.