More than just populism: Renzi, the Italian Senate referendum and the perils of second chamber reform

On 4 December 2016 Italians decisively rejected Matteo Renzi’s proposed constitutional reforms, which centred on reforming the Senate – leading to his resignation as Prime Minister. The international media widely reported this as a victory for populism. In this post Roberta Damiani and Meg Russell argue that the referendum result was more complex than that. It demonstrated the perils of referendums on detailed constitutional matters and in particular – with echoes of Nick Clegg’s experience in the UK – of attempted second chamber reform.

• Primary Source

ESO: Key source: Italian constitutional referendum, 2016 http://www.europeansources.info/record/italian-constitutional-referendum-2016/

---