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Italy’s Renzi admits referendum mistakes

Italy's former prime minister Matteo Renzi said on Sunday he made a mistake by "politicizing" a referendum on constitutional reform that saw him bundled out of office last week.

Published: 19 December 2016 08:35 CET
Italy's Renzi admits referendum mistakes
Renzi at new PM Paolo Gentiloni's swearing in ceremony. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

Renzi resigned after after Italians overwhelmingly rejected a package of reforms in a December 4th ballot that became a vote on his own record.

“We lost, we ultra-lost,” the 41-year-old Renzi told lawmakers from his centre-left Democratic Party (PD).

READ ALSO: The winners and losers of Italy's referendum

“I made the mistake of politicizing the referendum: I didn't see it happening and I was wrong.”

“We lost among young people, particularly the 30 to 40 year olds. We lost at home and that hurts.”

Renzi's replacement as prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, had his new government endorsed on Wednesday and hopes to guide Italy to elections in early 2018, but there are suggestions polls could come up to a year early.

READ MORE: Six questions and answers after the Italian referendum

Six questions (and answers) after the Italian referendum

Photo: AFP

 

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POLITICS

Italian minister indicted for Covid-era fraud

Prosecutors on Friday charged Italy's tourism minister with fraud relating to government redundancy funds claimed by her publishing companies during the coronavirus pandemic.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:19 CEST
Italian minister indicted for Covid-era fraud

Opposition lawmakers immediately requested the resignation of Daniela Santanche, a leading member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party.

Santanche, 63, has strongly rejected the allegations, including in a defiant appearance in parliament last year.

“The Milan prosecutor’s office today requested the indictment of the Minister Santanche and other persons as well as the companies Visibilia Editore and Visibilia Concessionaria,” the office said in a brief statement.

They were indicted “for alleged fraud of the INPS (National Institute for Social Security) in relation to alleged irregularities in the use of the Covid 19 redundancy fund, for a total of 13 employees”.

According to media reports, Visibilia is accused of obtaining state funds intended to help companies struggling with the pandemic to temporarily lay off staff — when in fact the 13 employees continued to work.

Santanche sold her stake in Visibilia when she joined the government of Meloni, who took office in October 2022.

The investigation has been going on for months, but with the decision by prosecutors to indict, opposition parties said Santanche should resign.

“We expect the prime minister to have a minimum of respect for the institutions and ask for Daniela Santanche’s resignation,” said Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left Democratic Party.

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