The Italian referendum and the issues at stake

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"On 4 December, Italy is holding a referendum.It's not a referendum on the euro - neither on the surface, nor implicitly, as we'll get to in a moment. But lots of people are worried about the outcome, and what it might say for politics across the globe in the wake of Brexit and Trump.

The referendum is meant to reform Italy's political system. Without going into the details (which are boring to anyone not intimately involved in Italian politics), the idea is to make changes that would make it easier to form stable governments and pass laws in the country.

To be clear, the changes seem reasonably sensible to an outside observer - this isn't an attempted coup or creeping authoritarianism, it's an effort to have a semblance of someone being in charge and getting the odd thing done.

However, Italian citizens are fed up and irritated like many around the globe, and it looks like they'll vote against the changes, to give the people in charge a bloody nose as much as anything else"

Full article here

 

Things moving quickly in Italy - new govmt soon, then elections, bank bailout


Reuters with a run down on developments in Italy:

  • Italian President Sergio Mattarella looks likely to nominate (current) Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni to head the next government
  • Gentiloni could potentially take office next week
  • He'll oversee new elections, but before any vote can take place Italy needs a new electoral law
  • Meanwhile, the country's third-largest lender, Monte dei Paschi di Siena looks as it needs an more or less immediate bhelp via state intervention to avoid collapse
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