Italy referendum: PM Matteo Renzi resigns after clear referendum defeat

[Mingle]

In a late-night news conference, he said he took responsibility for the outcome. He said the No camp must now make clear proposals.

An exit poll for state broadcaster RAI suggests 42-46% voted to back reform, compared with 54-58% voting No.

The first projections based on the official count point to a wider defeat.

Early indications have the Yes vote at 39-43% and the No at 57-61%.

"Good luck to us all," Mr Renzi told reporters. He said he would tell a Cabinet meeting on Monday afternoon that he was resigning, and then tender his resignation to the Italian president after two-and-a-half years in office.

The president is expected to ask him to stay on at least until parliament passes a budget bill later this month.

Mr Renzi said the reforms he proposed would have cut Italy's bureaucracy and made the country more competitive.

But the referendum was widely seen as a chance to register discontent with the prime minister.

Sleepless nights and uneasy prospects - BBC Europe editor Katya Adler in Rome

EU leaders won't have slept much on Sunday night. Angst about Italy makes an uncomfortable bedfellow and there's plenty for them to worry about. Particularly in Brussels. Prime Minister Renzi was the only premier left in Europe with a vision for the EU's future. Angela Merkel is too busy crisis-managing while much of France is in thrall to Front National eurosceptics.

But Matteo Renzi is no more. The self-styled reformer with his promise to stabilise politics and kick-start the Italian economy has managed quite the reverse.

Italy wakes up on Monday to the threat of a banking crisis, political turmoil, and a group of anti-establishment populists banging on the doors of government. Eurozone beware and EU be warned. Italy is the euro currency's third largest economy and it's in for a bumpy ride. And there are more unpredictable votes to come in 2017: in France, Germany the Netherlands and perhaps here in Italy too.

Spontaneous celebrations in the streets of Rome, after the referendum defeat and resignation of PM Matteo Renzi

The No vote was supported by populist parties, and the referendum was regarded as a barometer of anti-establishment sentiment in Europe.

The populist Five Star Movement says it is getting ready to govern Italy now that Mr Renzi is resigning. "Starting tomorrow we'll be at work on a Five Star government," one of its leaders, Luigi Di Maio, said.

The movement, led by comedian Beppe Grillo, spearheaded the winning No campaign.

Opposition leader Matteo Salvini, of the anti-immigrant Northern League, called the referendum a "victory of the people against the strong powers of three-quarters of the world".

There has been an immediate reaction from right-wing leaders in Europe.

The leader of Front Nationale in France, Marine Le Pen, tweeted her congratulations to the Northern League.

"The Italians have disavowed the EU and Renzi. We must listen to this thirst for freedom of nations," she said.

The euro fell against the dollar immediately after the exit polls came out.

There have been growing concerns over financial stability in the eurozone's third largest economy.

The turnout was very high by Italian standards - about 60% of the electorate cast their vote.

Nearly two-thirds voted in prosperous northern Italy but the turnout was much lower in the south.

What a No vote means

The No campaign in Italy has been spearheaded by the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, led by Beppe Grillo.

It wants a referendum on whether Italy should keep the euro.

Populist parties, including the Five Star Movement and the anti-immigrant Northern League.

The referendum comes in the wake of the Brexit vote in the UK in June, and coincides with the rise of the anti-immigrant Front National in France and populist parties elsewhere. It also comes less than a month after the election of Donald Trump in the United States.

Some 50 million Italians have the right to vote in the referendum - many voters are fed up with years of economic stagnation.

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38204189

[Mortimer]

Thanks for the info. Now there will be new elections?

[Queen B]

He doesn't know how to lose.
In our refenderum people votes NO, but Tsipras did his yes anyway () .
(And this is sarcasm)

[MissMischief]

The gloating of some people on British and American newspapers is breathtaking in its ignorance of Italian politics. The referendum had nothing to do with Brexit and even less to do with Trump. Italy was not voting to leave the eurozone or the EU so just stop seeing everything from an Anglocentric pro-EU/anti-EU point of view. It was just a referendum on a constitutional reform.

Personally, I voted no. I believe that the reform was poorly thought-out. Some parts were good but overall it was a mess in my opinion, and most experts of Italian Constitution thought so as well. In particular, I didn't like that the Senate would become an unelected chamber with senators immune from prosecution. The reform would have enshrined in law the duty to have a 50% male, 50% female parliament, which I also didn't like even if I would like to have more women in politics. These are just two of the main reasons.

[The Illyrian Warrior]

The gloating of some people on British and American newspapers is breathtaking in its ignorance of Italian politics. The referendum had nothing to do with Brexit and even less to do with Trump. Italy was not voting to leave the eurozone or the EU so just stop seeing everything from an Anglocentric pro-EU/anti-EU point of view. It was just a referendum on a constitutional reform.

Personally, I voted no. I believe that the reform was poorly thought-out. Some parts were good but overall it was a mess in my opinion, and most experts of Italian Constitution thought so as well. In particular, I didn't like that the Senate would become an unelected chamber with senators immune from prosecution. The reform would have enshrined in law the duty to have a 50% male, 50% female parliament, which I also didn't like even if I would like to have more women in politics. These are just two of the main reasons.

This reform shall have passed through by now, Italian women are smoking hot and deserve every single seat in my horny, ahem, humble opinion.

[Mingle]

The gloating of some people on British and American newspapers is breathtaking in its ignorance of Italian politics. The referendum had nothing to do with Brexit and even less to do with Trump. Italy was not voting to leave the eurozone or the EU so just stop seeing everything from an Anglocentric pro-EU/anti-EU point of view. It was just a referendum on a constitutional reform.

Personally, I voted no. I believe that the reform was poorly thought-out. Some parts were good but overall it was a mess in my opinion, and most experts of Italian Constitution thought so as well. In particular, I didn't like that the Senate would become an unelected chamber with senators immune from prosecution. The reform would have enshrined in law the duty to have a 50% male, 50% female parliament, which I also didn't like even if I would like to have more women in politics. These are just two of the main reasons.

I heard the biggest reason the reform was rejected was cause it would take power away from the states and give more power to the central government.

[Tacitus]

The gloating of some people on British and American newspapers is breathtaking in its ignorance of Italian politics. The referendum had nothing to do with Brexit and even less to do with Trump. Italy was not voting to leave the eurozone or the EU so just stop seeing everything from an Anglocentric pro-EU/anti-EU point of view. It was just a referendum on a constitutional reform.

Personally, I voted no. I believe that the reform was poorly thought-out. Some parts were good but overall it was a mess in my opinion, and most experts of Italian Constitution thought so as well. In particular, I didn't like that the Senate would become an unelected chamber with senators immune from prosecution. The reform would have enshrined in law the duty to have a 50% male, 50% female parliament, which I also didn't like even if I would like to have more women in politics. These are just two of the main reasons.

I think that idea comes from the thinking that Renzi steps down --> M5S anti-establishment wins election --> new M5S-dominated government votes to leave the Eurozone. If Renzi didn't make the referendum about himself, there would be less of a comparison between Brexit and Trump; since he did, it's being seen as a rejection of him and the establishment, especially in line with the continued popularity of M5S.

As I said in the other thread, reforms are needed, but not the ones spelled out in the referendum, especially the point about the Senate.

[Mingle]

How Italy voted yesterday:

[Desperado]

I heard the biggest reason the reform was rejected was cause it would take power away from the states and give more power to the central government.

There are no states in Italy. One of the proposed changes was to abolish provinces and substitute them with the same exact thing under another denomination. Just like when they abolished the Ministry of Agriculture and created the Ministry of Agricultural Policies. Italy is a country where civil rights are violated on a regular basis and where plebiscites are generally ignored. In fact, I expect some of the changes of this reform to be implemented anyways regardless of the result.

I think that idea comes from the thinking that Renzi steps down --> M5S anti-establishment wins election --> new M5S-dominated government votes to leave the Eurozone. If Renzi didn't make the referendum about himself, there would be less of a comparison between Brexit and Trump; since he did, it's being seen as a rejection of him and the establishment, especially in line with the continued popularity of M5S.

As I said in the other thread, reforms are needed, but not the ones spelled out in the referendum, especially the point about the Senate.

This goes to show how little whoever wrote that article knows about politics down here. Anyone with a pair of eyes can see that M5S has no intention whatsoever to get in power. Proof? President of the Republic Mattarella has reverted Renzi's decision to step down and they are in agreement, after having spent the last few years flingig shit at everyone. Fake contrarians.

[Tacitus]

There are no states in Italy. One of the proposed changes was to abolish provinces and substitute them with the same exact thing under another denomination. Just like when they abolished the Ministry of Agriculture and created the Ministry of Agricultural Policies. Italy is a country where civil rights are violated on a regular basis and where plebiscites are generally ignored. In fact, I expect some of the changes of this reform to be implemented anyways regardless of the result.



This goes to show how little whoever wrote that article knows about politics down here. Anyone with a pair of eyes can see that M5S has no intention whatsoever to get in power. Proof? President of the Republic Mattarella has reverted Renzi's decision to step down and they are in agreement, after having spent the last few years flingig shit at everyone. Fake contrarians.

Well if M5S is voted in – whether in a couple months or in 2018 during the regular election – then they have no choice but to govern. Although I have a really hard time imagining Luigi Di Maio running the country, it would be like putting one of us in charge.