Thursday, December 1, 2016

Threat of Brexit contagion hangs over Italy's referendum

A year ago, Italy’s Matteo Renzi confidently staked his political future on a constitutional referendum. But that was before Brexit and Donald Trump. With Italians now in similarly insurgent mood, the gamble threatens to backfire spectacularly.


Politicians struggling to make sense of a tumultuous year for Western democracies can draw at least one lesson from 2016: that calling a referendum to buttress their power – or merely appearing to do so – is a recipe for disaster.

The UK’s David Cameron notoriously gambled with his country’s future in Europe in order to win a general election and cement his leadership of a divided party. The result was Brexit – and early retirement.

There are plenty of parallels to be drawn with Sunday’s Italian referendum, over plans to reform the country's constitution and streamline parliament.

Italy’s youthful prime minister, who rose to power courtesy of a party coup in 2014, was hoping a decisive win would grant him democratic legitimacy and silence his many critics. Instead his tactical mishaps threaten to plunge his country – and the Eurozone – back into crisis.

“Renzi has made a strategic blunder by turning the referendum into a personal issue,” said Paolo Bellucci, a professor of political science at the University of Siena, referring to the prime minister’s pledge to resign in the event of a “No” vote.

“As a result, voters see this as a chance to deliver a vote of no confidence in the government,” Bellucci told FRANCE 24............http://www.france24.com/en/20161201-brexit-contagion-italy-referendum-renzi-grillo-euro-italexit
 [france24.com]
1/12/16
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