SHARE
COPY LINK

POLITICS

Populists celebrate ‘people’s victory’ as Renzi packs his bags

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said his goodbyes on Monday after a ruinous referendum defeat that was cheered by populist leaders and sent shockwaves rippling around Europe.

Populists celebrate 'people's victory' as Renzi packs his bags
Photo: Gabriel Buoys/AFP

“My experience of government finishes here,” said a downcast Renzi after accepting a defeat of almost 60-40 percent over his constitutional reform bid.

The result, coming on the coattails of Brexit and Donald Trump's US election win, has plunged Italy into a period of political uncertainty and cast a shadow over the short- and long-term future of the eurozone's third-largest economy.

After a first meeting with President Sergio Mattarella to discuss his departure, Renzi posted a link on his Facebook page defending his record since he came to power in February 2014.

“1,000 difficult but wonderful days. Thanks to everyone. Viva l'Italia,” he wrote.

Renzi, 41, was expected to formally tender his resignation to Mattarella after a final cabinet meeting set for 6.30 pm (1730 GMT).

Mattarella will then be charged with brokering the appointment of a new government or, if he is unable to do that, ordering early elections.

Traders not panicking yet

Initial market reaction was subdued. The euro briefly sank to a 20-month low as investors fretted that political instability could scupper efforts to resolve a long-running banking crisis, and over the possibility of an election that could see anti-EU parties challenge for power.

Italy's FTSE MIB stock index fell 2.0 percent at the opening before clawing back some ground, underperforming other European markets. Italian bond yields rose slightly, having already edged up prior to Sunday's vote.

Traders were reassured in part by the result of Europe's other crucial vote this weekend, which saw Austria reject a far-right candidate for president.

“The next steps are far from clear for Italy and traders are not panicking yet”, said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.

Some analysts said the referendum could come to be seen as a landmark moment.

Holger Schmieding, at the Berenberg private bank, said the risk that Italy could choose to leave the euro, while still remote, had increased.

Capital Economics said: “Italy has taken the first step along a path that could lead it out of the eurozone.”

'A people's victory'

Populists across Europe rejoiced at Renzi's downfall, with the founder of Italy's own anti-establishment Five Star movement Beppe Grillo calling for an election “within a week”.

Grillo said a snap election should be held on the basis of a recently adopted electoral law designed to ensure the leading party has a majority in the Chamber of Deputies, despite having previously called for this to be changed.

Observers varied widely in their interpretation of the vote.

Britian's eurosceptic Nigel Farage, who spearheaded the “Brexit” campaign, said it looked “more about the euro than constitutional change”.

But former Bank of Italy economist Lorenzo Codgno insisted: “The outcome of the referendum is much more complex and nuanced than 'just another wave of protest across the globe'.”

Giovanni Orsina, Professor of Politics at Rome's Luiss university, said four out of five voters had cast their vote politically rather than on the merits of the reform.

“The vote has broad similarities with the Brexit and Trump phenomenona,” he said. “The electorate voted against the establishment, against Brussels. They didn't get into the subtleties.”

READ MORE: Why Italy's referendum is not the same as Trump or Brexit

Early election unlikely

Poll data showed the No vote was strongest in areas with high unemployment, in the relatively poor south of the country and amongst youth, pointing to a correlation with levels of disaffection.

Most analysts see immediate elections as unlikely, partly because all the main political parties have already begun discussions on revising the country's electoral laws.

As things stand the two houses of parliament would be elected by two different systems, which is seen as a recipe for a post-vote stalemate nobody wants.

The most probable scenario is a caretaker administration dominated by Renzi's Democratic Party taking over to complete the electoral reform before an election that has to take place by March 2018.

The new administration's most pressing priority will be finalizing the country's 2017 budget, which the European Commission has threatened to reject as too expansionary given Italy's debt levels.

Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan is the favourite to succeed Renzi as prime minister and the outgoing leader may stay on as head of his party – which would leave him well-placed for a potential comeback to frontline politics at the next election, whenever it is.

Padoan cancelled a trip to Brussels on Monday.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

POLITICS

How much control does Giorgia Meloni’s government have over Italian media?

There's been renewed debate over the state of press freedom in Italy following warnings that Meloni's administration is seeking "control" of Italy's media. But what's behind these reports?

How much control does Giorgia Meloni's government have over Italian media?

Press freedom is at the centre of fresh debate in Italy this week after Spanish newspaper El País on Saturday published an article titled “Meloni wants all the media power in Italy.”

The report, which was picked up by Italian newspaper La Repubblica, suggests that the Italian prime minister and her right-wing executive is looking to “monopolise” national print and broadcast outlets

It follows reports in English-language media recently describing how Meloni is accused of trying to stamp her authority on Italian arts and media in what critics call a “purge” of dissenting voices.

Meloni and members of her administration have long faced accusations of trying to silence journalists and intimidate detractors. Media organisations say this often takes the form of high-profile politicians bringing lawsuits against individual journalists, and cite the defamation case brought by Meloni against anti-mafia reporter Roberto Saviano in 2023 as a prime example.

READ ALSO: Six things to know about the state of press freedom in Italy

Discussions over media independence aren’t new in Italy, as the country has consistently ranked poorly in the annual Press Freedom reports by Reporters without Borders in recent years. Italy came in 41st out of 180 in the 2023 ranking, which made it the worst country in western Europe for press freedom.

But what’s behind the recent allegations that the government is trying to exert a more direct influence?

Meloni, Porta a Porta

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Italian national TV show Porta a Porta in Rome on April 4th 2024. Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

National television

The article from El País accuses Meloni’s cabinet of effectively controlling Italy’s two biggest national broadcasters: state-owned RAI and commercial broadcaster Mediaset.

While Mediaset and its three main channels (Rete 4, Canale 5 and Italia 1) have long been seen as ‘loyal’ to Meloni’s executive – the network was founded by the late Silvio Berlusconi, whose Forza Italia party continues to be a key member of the ruling coalition – the government’s ties with public broadcaster RAI are more complex.

Unlike state-owned broadcasters in other European countries, RAI is not controlled by a regulatory body but rather by the government itself, which means that the network has always been particularly susceptible to political influences. 

But Meloni’s cabinet is accused of exerting unprecedented power over the broadcaster following the replacement of former top executives with figures considered closer to the government.

Salvini, RAI

Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini speaks with Italian journalist Bruno Vespa during the talk show Porta a Porta, broadcast on Italian channel Rai 1. Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP

Last May, Carlo Fuortes resigned as RAI’s CEO saying that he couldn’t possibly “accept changes opposed to RAI’s interests”. He was replaced by centrist Roberto Sergio, who in turn appointed Giampaolo Rossi – a “loyalist” of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party – as the network’s general director. 

Sergio and Rossi’s appointment was closely followed by a general management reshuffle which saw figures close to the government occupy key positions within the company. This led to critics and journalists dubbing the network ‘TeleMeloni’.

Print media 

Besides concerns over its sway on Italy’s main broadcast networks, Meloni’s executive is currently under heavy scrutiny following the rumoured takeover of Italy’s AGI news agency by the right-wing Angelucci publishing group. 

The group is headed by Antonio Angelucci, an MP for Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s hard-right League party, and owner of three right-wing newspapers: Il Giornale, Libero and Il Tempo.

News of the potential takeover from Angelucci sparked a series of strikes and demonstrations from the news agency’s journalists in recent weeks, with reporters raising concerns over the independence and autonomy of journalists in the event of an ownership change.

The leader of the centre-left Democratic Party Elly Schlein weighed in on the matter last week, saying that the sale of Italy’s second-largest news agency to a ruling coalition MP would be “inadmissible”.

Further debate over press freedom in the country emerged in early March after three journalists from the left-wing Domani newspaper were accused of illegally accessing and publishing private data regarding a number of high-profile people, including Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, and the late Silvio Berlusconi’s girlfriend. 

The newspaper has so far condemned the investigation, saying it is “a warning to Domani and all journalists” and a further threat to media independence in a country ranked amongst the worst in Europe for press freedom.

SHOW COMMENTS