Italy's prime minister resigns after landslide defeat in referendum vote

[FarCenter]

Italy's prime minister Matteo Renzi announced his resignation in Rome shortly after midnight on Monday, after losing a critical referendum battle on which he staked his political career.

"Italy has chosen. Now it's up to those who won to make proposals," Renzi said during a press conference at Palazzo Chigi, the prime minster's residence, in Rome. "I take all responsibility for the defeat."

Italians voted Sunday on whether to significantly cut the number of senators in Italy's government, a move Renzi argued would significantly cut bureaucracy in Italy — an obscure debate were not for Renzi's declaration earlier this year that he would resign if "Yes" did not win.

"No" won by a large margin, with results showing 60%-40% in its favor as of this publication.

The result is seen as a rejection of Renzi and his leadership, and leaves an opening for Beppe Grillo and his increasingly powerful populist Five Star Movement to fill the void.

http://www.businessinsider.com/matteo-renzi-resigns-2016-12

But Italy has had about 60 governments since WW II, or about one per year. Italy is more or less proof that a nation doesn't need a functioning federal government.

[DetlefK]

1. Italy has 12 major parties and 5 minor parties.

The political landscape in Italy typically wastes a lot of energy of the parliament on political infighting. Renzi's proposal would (among other things) have cut the seats in the Senate from 315 to 100, practically pushing out the small parties and streamlining the lawmaking-process.

I faintly remember reading an article about about an italian politician who was 70 or 80 at the time. He had switched parties 5 times during his career.