_http://www.politico.eu/article/matteo-renzi-loses-italian-referendum-exit-poll/ said:
ROME — Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi resigned on Sunday night after suffering a crushing defeat in a referendum on constitutional reform.
The 41-year-old center-left leader’s attempt to persuade Italians to streamline the lawmaking process and centralize more political power met with a resounding “No.”
His opponents won almost 60 percent of votes and 17 out of Italy’s 20 regions, according to preliminary results, while Renzi’s Yes campaign managed just 40 percent and three regions. High voter turnout of more than 66 percent made it an even more conclusive defeat for the former mayor of Florence.
Renzi had staked his prime ministership on obtaining a Yes vote, and followed through with his promise to quit his position if he failed.
“I lost. In Italian politics, no one ever loses,” he told a news conference just past midnight. “But I am different. My political experience in the government comes to an end here.”
“The No won in an extraordinarily clear way. Now it’s up to them to come up with concrete proposals and reforms,” Renzi said, adding that he would formally advise President Sergio Mattarella of his decision on Monday, after saying goodbye to his cabinet.
Renzi’s defeat constitutes another populist setback for the European Union, following the U.K.’s Brexit vote in June. Although Austria’s presidential election on Sunday night saw off a challenge from the far Right, the No campaign in Italy was led by populists such as Beppe Grillo’s anti-establishment 5Star Movement, the far-right Northern League and ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi.
In a further note of concern for the EU, the 5Star Movement has previously called for a referendum on Italy’s membership of the eurozone and the renegotiation of the country’s public debt, though opinion polls have suggested Italians would not vote to leave the euro.
Vito Crimi, a 5Star senator, told POLITICO late Sunday night that his party wants new elections “as soon as possible,” though it does not yet have a candidate. He ruled out governing in a coalition with Renzi’s Democratic Party (PD), saying it “is absolutely off the table. They kept the country hostage for three years for these constitutional changes and clearly they are not a reliable partner.”
As head of state, Mattarella will now be in charge of calling new elections and/or setting up a temporary technocratic government. The Northern League’s Matteo Salvini told POLITICO before Renzi had even stepped down that he was “ready to run for prime minister.”
Renzi’s proposed constitutional reform was also opposed by some within his own party, such as former prime minister Massimo D’Alema, and moderate figures such as the former European commissioner and ex-prime minister Mario Monti.
The Renzi camp included European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who said last week that he “would like the No not to win.”
Renzi’s resignation was not unexpected, as the prime minister had staked his job on a Yes vote, but was not welcomed by the No-backers within his own party.
“We did not demand his resignation and it is a mistake,” the PD’s Miguel Gotor told POLITICO Sunday. “The government and the constitution are two different things and should be kept separate.”
What’s next for Renzi and PD
It may not all be over for Renzi. He is still PD leader, and may yet reshuffle his cabinet and re-form government, potentially with Economy and Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan as prime minister.
But holding on to his position as party leader in the aftermath of the humiliating referendum result may prove difficult.
“Renzi is on the ropes,” said Francesco Galietti, chief executive of Policy Sonar, a Rome-based political risk consultancy. “Not only has he had to resign as prime minister, the pressure within his own party will reach unprecedented levels and he may even have to step down as head of the party … If he loses the party leadership, he is out of politics.”
