"SPEED IT UP OR BRING IT DOWN?"
8
the 2016 Italian Constitutional Referendum and the future of Italian Democracy- is it Time for a change?
At the moment of publishing the referendum has passed. The 'NO' party won with 59,1% of votes against 40,9% for 'YES'. As soon as the polls showed that a defeat was certain, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi resigned, as he had promised. The future is uncertain and things will take time to settle, even more so in terms of elections. However, this referendum saw more than 60 per cent of Italian citizens going to vote, an amazing turnout in a country as discouraged by politics as ours.
Proposed in 2014 by Italy’s Prime Minister and leader of the Democratic Party, Matteo Renzi, it received its second and final approval from the senate on 20th January 2016, and then on 12th of April 2016 by the Chamber.
Before moving on and discussing how this reform would have changed the Italian political system, it is important to understand how the system has been working since the birth of the Italian Republic in 1861.
The Italian Parliament is described as a ‘sistema bicamerale perfetto’ (perfectly symmetrical bicameral legislature). It is composed of two Houses: the Senate of the Republic and the Chamber of Deputies.
Proposed in 2014 by Italy’s Prime Minister and leader of the Democratic Party, Matteo Renzi, it received its second and final approval from the senate on 20th January 2016, and then on 12th of April 2016 by the Chamber.
Before moving on and discussing how this reform would changed the Italian political system, it is important to understand how the system has been working since the birth of the Italian Republic in 1861.
The Italian Parliament is described as a ‘Sistema bicamerale perfetto’ (perfectly symmetrical bicameral legislature). It is composed of two Houses: the Senate of the Republic and the Chamber of Deputies.