Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told today that it had been a mistake to personalize a referendum, due to be held later this year, in which he originally promised to submit if he died to convince voters to back the demand for constitutional change. Political uncertainty linked to the vote on proposals Renzi says will bring stability after 70 years of revolving-door government has added to concerns about fragility in the euro zone’s third-biggest economy.“I made a mistake personalizing it too much,” Renzi told party supporters at an event in Modena, northern Italy. “This is not one person’s reform; this is the reform Italy needs.”

 No government has completed a full term in Italy since World War Two, making it difficult to straighten out an economy whose debt is second in the euro zone only to Greece’s as a proportion of output, which leads in it has sputtered for decades.

Renzi wants to do away with a parliamentary system in which the upper and lower houses have equal abilities, effectively abolishing the Senate as an elected chamber and sharply reducing its power to veto legislation.

The Senate holds the power to bring down governments by calling back its confidence and advocates of the reform say the projected changes will stabilize the regime and speed up lawmaking.

Renzi’s main opponents are the Five Star Movement, which establishes its policies, and selects its candidates, through online polls.

“The problem with amateur politicians is that, while they may have good thoughts, they often miss the necessary technical ability, and staying power, to discover their ideas through to full and effective implementation,” writes former Irish Prime Minister John Bruton in an opinion piece in the Irish Independent.

“Reform is necessary for Italy to remain a strong and effective state into the future,” added Bruton. “A rise in the price of fuel, or in international interest rates, could cause a big crisis for the country, unless it proves itself capable of facing up to some very difficult decisions.”
“Failure to do so has the potential to undermine Italy’s position in the euro and its banking system, which could then affect all of Europe.”

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