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Renzi vows 2018 elections regardless of vote outcome

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has pledged general elections in 2018 regardless of the outcome of the upcoming referendum on constitutional reform.

Published: 22 August 2016 10:32 CEST
Renzi vows 2018 elections regardless of vote outcome
Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has bet his leadership on the upcoming referendum. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

The 41-year-old has staked his leadership on winning the crucial referendum, which will be held before the end of the year.

The reforms are intended to enable laws to be passed more quickly, abolish the lavishly financed Senate and bring about a more stable and robust government.

But critics have argued that the overhaul would grant excessive powers to the government.

Asked during an interview at an outdoor festival in Tuscany on Sunday whether elections would take place in 2018 regardless of the vote’s outcome, Renzi said “yes”.

He also said he would keep to his word of stepping down if he loses, despite earlier admitting that it had been a mistake to personalise the referendum.

Polls indicate that the outcome of the referendum is too close to call.

In a report last month the political risk consultancy firm, Eurasia Group, said the referendum had a 60 percent probability of passing, but added that the polls have narrowed sharply since April.

Read more: Why discontented Italians could derail their economy

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POLITICS

Italian PM Meloni’s ally gets EU Commission vice president job

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday named Raffaele Fitto, a member of PM Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, executive vice president in the next European Commission, sparking concern among centre-left lawmakers.

Published: 17 September 2024 11:34 CEST
Italian PM Meloni's ally gets EU Commission vice president job

Fitto, 55, will be in charge of “cohesion and reforms” and become one of von der Leyen’s key lieutenants in the European Union’s executive body, despite concerns from EU lawmakers on the left and in the centre.

“He will be responsible for the portfolio dealing with cohesion policy, regional development and cities,” von der Leyen told a press conference.

Writing on X, Meloni called the choice of Fitto, a member of her Brothers of Italy party, “an important recognition that confirms the newfound central role of our nation in the EU”.

“Italy is finally back as a protagonist in Europe,” she added.

Currently Italy’s European affairs minister, Fitto knows Brussels well and is widely regarded as one of the more moderate faces of Meloni’s government.

But as a member of her party, which once called for Rome to leave the eurozone, his potential appointment to such a powerful post had sparked alarm ahead of von der Leyen’s official announcement.

Centrist French MEP Valerie Hayer described it as “untenable” and Fitto is likely to face a stormy confirmation hearing before the European Parliament.

“Italy is a very important country and one of our founding members, and this has to reflect in the choice,” von der Leyen said of his nomination.

READ ALSO: EU chief to hand economy vice-president job to Italian PM Meloni’s party

Fitto was elected three times to the European Parliament before joining Meloni’s administration in 2022, when was charged with managing Italy’s share of the EU’s vast post-Covid recovery plan.

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