An Italian politician has proposed a bill that would automatically assign newborns their mother’s surname, a break from long-standing tradition that has stirred heated debate across the country.

Dario Franceschini, a former culture minister from the center-left Democratic Party, introduced the measure, calling it an effort to “right a historic wrong.”

The proposal is rooted in a landmark 2022 ruling by Italy’s constitutional court, which found the automatic assignment of the father’s surname to be “discriminatory and harmful to the child’s identity.” The court held that children should receive both parents’ surnames in an order agreed upon by the parents — or just one, if mutually decided. In cases of dispute or indecision, a judge would determine the outcome.

To enforce the ruling, new legislation was required. However, the issue was tabled after Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition came to power six months later. Franceschini has now revived the matter, arguing that assigning only the maternal surname by default would avoid “endless problems” tied to double surnames or forcing parents to choose between the mother’s or father’s surname.

Currently, as in many countries, children born in Italy are automatically registered with their father’s surname. The mother’s surname is typically permitted only in cases where the father is absent from the child’s life.

Franceschini said he plans to formally present the bill in the coming days. The proposal has already drawn criticism from members of Meloni’s coalition, who argue that more pressing national issues deserve parliament’s attention.

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