Many had read the referendum as an outlet for growing anti-establishment, populist sentiment in Europe. When Renzi late last year promised to resign if the referendum was defeated, it was months before Britain’s David Cameron had made his ill-fated bet that a referendum would cement the U.K.’s membership in the European Union. He was forced to resign when Britons instead voted to leave the EU fold.
In Italy, the referendum was required because the reforms were approved by less than two-thirds of Parliament. But Renzi raised the stakes, turning the referendum into a virtual plebiscite on himself, when he pledged to quit if Italians turned their back on reforms to streamline the Senate and give the central government more powers at the cost of the regions. “We are ready to vote as soon as possible,” Salvini told reporters.
Renzi had been hoping to survive the rising populist forces that have gained traction across Europe. Earlier on Sunday, in Austria’s presidential runoff, left-leaning candidate Alexander Van der Bellen prevailed over a right-wing populist. In Italy, Renzi’s opponents counted on tapping into the populist sentiment rising in much of Europe as well as the U.S. presidential victory last month by billionaire political outsider Donald Trump.
(Sourced from agencies, feature image courtesy:wunc.org)
