PHOTO: Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi
With the UK still in limbo over the June decision by voters to leave the European Union, there are further referendum rumblings on the continent.
On Sunday, more than 98% of Hungarians voted to close the door to refugees. However, because less than half of the electorate participated, the process is constitutionally null and void.
More serious might be a December 4 vote in Italy over a reduction in powers of the Italian Senate.
That issue might seem mundane beyond Rome, but a “No” vote — which polls say is likely — will have further consequences. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has promised to resign, and the Euro-sceptic Five Star Movement party could replace him.
The University of Birmingham’s Daniele Albertazzi talks to Share Radio’s Money Matters about the prospects for Italy and Europe.
Growth has been low for a very long time. The debt has been large for a very long time and it hasn’t shrunk. And now the banking system is burdened.
There has been a closure of many, many small businesses. [Italy] is in a fragile state.
The last thing the EU needs, after the referendum in the UK, is for Italy to be unstable.
