What Are The Italians Voting About?

[ToraToraTora]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38198177
As far as I can tell the PM wants to get more power for himself though the wording is inconclusive. At least our referendum was a 100% clear binary choice.

[ichkeria]

The link explains it

[Zacs-Master]

If our referendum was 100% clear, then why are we in the goddam mess we seem to be in?

And yes, the answer is in the article.

(Cue an abusive response with the word leftist in it)

[ichkeria]

The trouble with these referendums, as Signor Renzi may be about to find out, is that people often use them as a stick to beat the government with. Ironically, in this case, by sticking with the status quo ...

[Khandro]

With a question like;

[i] Do you approve the text of the Constitutional Law on 'Provisions for exceeding the equal bicameralism, reducing the number of MPs, the containment of operating costs of the institutions, the suppression of the CNEL and the revision of Title V of Part II of the Constitution' approved by Parliament and published in the Official Gazette n° 88 of 15 April 2016? [i]

I suspect a lot of uncertainty, and if in doubt as to what that means, I would expect a lot of 'no' votes.

[New Judge]

Yes, to save you looking it up, this is the question to be answered by Italian voters:

"Do you approve the text of the Constitutional Law on 'Provisions for exceeding the equal bicameralism, reducing the number of MPs, the containment of operating costs of the institutions, the suppression of the CNEL and the revision of Title V of Part II of the Constitution' approved by Parliament and published in the Official Gazette n° 88 of 15 April 2016?"

Methinks the people who drafted the question did so in such a way that the majority of Italians will not have a clue what the question means. Instead they will have to rely on simplified “propaganda” to help them make up their mind. The UK’s referendum on EU membership seemed to be the other way about. The question was as simple as simple could be but the explanation of what it meant was made unnecessarily complex.

The Italians effectively are casting a vote of confidence (or not) in their Prime Minister. There is no doubt that Italy’s institutions need reform (the country gets a new government almost every year). But quite whether this vote will achieve it (even if it results in a “Yes” vote) is debateable. One thing is for sure – if Mr Renzi loses the vote and resigns it will plunge Italy into even more chaos than it is used to. Many Italians are saying the harbingers of doom are operating in the same way as those from the UK’s “Project Fear”. I’m not so sure. The Italian economy sits on a knife edge (thanks almost entirely to its use of the single currency) and if Mr Renzi resigns (provided he is not persuaded by the President to form a new government) there is every chance that an anti-euro government will take power. If Italy leaves the euro it – and possibly the entire EU – faces a bleak future. Exciting times ahead !!!

[ichkeria]

Ymb's question was 'what are they voting on' and the link explains it: far better than the actual question by the look of it.

[ichkeria]

Sorry Tora's question (unforgivable confusion there :-) )

[Zacs-Master]

Ha. Separated at birth I reckon.

[cassa333]

Zac did you not understand the UK referendum?

It was 100% clear. In or out. The answer was out. We are in the goddam mess we are in now because remainers are pissing in the wind trying to make it as difficult as possible to actually do. The remainers are doing more damage now to the UK than any exit will.

The referendum makers are making the wording on this sort of thing now as wordy and less understandable as possible because they don't like straight questions, because they don't like straight answers.

[Zacs-Master]

The results were advisory, not mandatory.

As for your last para, the situation always was complicated and had we been told that it would have to go to a parliamentary vote, I don't think the turn out would have been so high. We were unwittingly misled.

[-Talbot-]

Looks very much like Renzi will be falling on his sword.

[DaisyNonna]

Oooo learned a new word, bicameralism

[Davemano]

Had our referendum been worded similar to that explained by NJ, the polling stations would still be open.

[Davemano]

Zacs, on AB there were a number of people who were misled and only decided to vote Remain when told their saving were likely to suffer.

[-Talbot-]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38204189

[Davemano]

Renzi ahs stuck to his word and done a 'Cameron'

[ludwig]

Whatever it was, it's clearly been used as yet another 'F U' vote to the establishment.

[Peter Pedant]

Renzi has gone
he said he wanted to empty the armchairs in the senate
and commented that the first one to be emptied was his own

http://www.liberation.fr/planete/2016/12/05/referendum-en-italie-matteo-renzi-annonce-sa-demission_1532999

sozza intentional fr ref about an italian event
I only put that in to excoriate Nigh who is an educated lady who er doesnt do French or Italian

[ichkeria]

It's rather odd (or maybe not) that "Best Answer" to this has gone a comment on the UK referendum!

Signor Renzi shot himself in the foot by making this a resigning issue. It meant that a lot of people would almost certainly have used it as a way of geting rid of him. If I'd been eligible to vote, regardless of what I felt about the proposals, I'd probably have voted "Yes" to keep him in power, which is not what these things should be about.
Interestingly, however, in an exit poll a small majority of voters claimed to have voted on the issue itself, and not on anything else.
Italians by nature trust their politicians even less than we seem to (and not surprisingly, given their history) to the extent that apparently they'd be happy to see a clown in power.
Plainly Signor Renzi should have adopted the Russian approach? Want, say, to extend the Presidential term by 50% from 4 to 6 years? Avoid all the hassle of a referendum and simply put it before a corrupt and biddable parliament :-)
Sorted.