December 6, 2016: The Italian referendum sought to rewrite 47 of the 139 articles in the Italian constitution, which Prime Minister Matteo Renzi thought was crucial in order to allow the government to compete with European economies.
On December 4, large number of Italians turned up to vote in the constitutional referendum. Renzi won a little over 40 percent of the vote, a far worse result than polls had predicted. It ended months of campaigning for a reform that he said would have brought political stability to Italy but that opponents said jeopardised democratic checks and balances.
Shortly after the electoral results, Renzi announced his resignation and said that his ‘experience of government finishes here’ after the No campaign won what he described as an ‘extraordinarily clear’ victory in the referendum on which he had staked his future.
Following the referendum there seems to be uncertainty surrounding Italy’s financial future. The euro immediately fell against the dollar on the exit polls.