Italy - 2016 Constitutional Referendum
When Matteo Renzi took office, he promised to wreck the old structures that have been slowing Italy down for decades. Renzi launched his parliamentary reform campaign 21 May 2016 in the northern city of Bergamo, saying constitutional streamlining would give Italy "a bit of hope for the future." A baroque system, sporting two chambers of parliament with equal rights, is not a showcase of democracy. It is expensive and slow. An assertive government in Rome doesn't have to remind voters of Mussolini. It would rather pave the way for Italy's modernization which is long overdue. The beneficiaries of a deadlocked system have been impeding reforms for many years, in Italy's south as well as in the country's rather euroskeptical north.
The constitutional changes would turn Italy's Senate into a body of 100 members chosen mostly from regions, compared to its form of 315 directly-elected and five lifetime lawmakers. The Senate would also lose many of its powers to block and revise legislation. Another change would transfer some powers from the regions to the central government, making it easier for large infrastructure projects to get approved. The changes would also abolish at costly government policy agency in Rome. In all, the reforms would amend 47 out of 139 articles in the constitution.
While a large legislature might be more democratically representative, Italy's parliament can indeed be unwieldy, with a combined 951 members, it is the third largest national parliament in the world. And its completely equal bicameralism means legislation can be shunted back and forth ad infinitum. On the surface, the choice appears simple: vote "Yes" to back the ruling center-left Democratic Party (PD) and reduce political bloat, or vote "No" to stick it to the establishment and keep the executive from consolidating power.
All four attempts to revise the constitution over the past three decades have failed, most recently a reform package backed by former premier Berlusconi in 2006. With all votes counted, results showed 59 percent of Italians voting against Renzi's proposed reforms, with just under 41 percent in favor.
By promising to step down, Renzi has conflated the constitutional question with support for himself and his Democratic Party, leading many to speculate that a "No" vote may prevail as a protest against the premier and the establishment. The premier in turn has repeatedly sought to make the referendum about reforms, rather than "whether you like Matteo Renzi's face or not." The last poll two weeks ago before a pre-vote polling ban signaled opposition to the changes had a 5-8 percentage points lead. But with a quarter of the electorate undecided and Renzi relying on a strong expat voter turnout, the outcome is uncertain.
The main opposition parties, populist 5 Star Movement, Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia and the far-right Northern League, argue the constitutional changes will erode democratic checks and balances. They are joined by some disgruntled members of the Democratic Party, many constitutional experts and voters who simply do not like Renzi.
Supporters of the constitutional changes argue the changes would end gridlock in parliament and strengthen the powers of the executive. A "Yes" vote would give Renzi both the mandate and means to pursue reforms his center-left Democratic Party and junior coalition partners say are necessary to unleash Italy's economic potential and streamline government.
European capitals and global financial markets are closely watching the vote in the EU's fourth largest economy. A rejection of the ballot measure may send Italy into a period of political and economic uncertainty that could reverberate across the EU. It comes as Austria holds a presidential vote that could see for the first time since World War II a far-right populist become a European head of state. In a worst case scenario, a rejection could set the stage for a political crisis and loss of confidence in Italy and its debt-ridden banks, triggering broader problems within the eurozone. While nervous, markets appear to have already factored in potential instability.
"My government ends today," Renzi said just after midnight on 04 December 2016, in a televised address from the Palazzo Chigi. "I take full responsibility for this defeat." Renzi said he could not refute the "extraordinarily clear" results of Sunday's referendum on constitutional reforms, and called on his rivals to provide clear proposals for ending the continuous cycle of political deadlock in Rome. He offered his condolences to those in his "Yes" camp, congratulating them on a hard-fought campaign. "Good luck to us all," said the prime minister of two-and-a-half years, saying he would give his letter of resignation to President Sergio Mattarella.
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