Italian PM Matteo Renzi to resign in wake of referendum defeat

[Ptarmigan]

Italian PM Matteo Renzi to resign in wake of referendum defeat
http://news.sky.com/story/italian-pm-matteo-renzi-to-resign-in-wake-of-referendum-defeat-10683879

Italian PM Matteo Renzi has said he will resign after losing a key referendum on constitutional reform.

Mr Renzi had staked his future on a "Yes" vote, vowing to quit if voters rejected his plans - which opponents denounced as dangerous for democracy - to reduce the role of the country's Senate and take back powers from regional authorities.

The result plunges the country into political turmoil, with the effects likely to be felt on the markets and across the rest of Europe.

The referendum has been defeated in Italy. A blow to the EU.

[Gamle-ged]

Adding background...

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A defeat for Renzi, who proposed the vote and initially pledged to resign if the result didn’t go his way, could lead to early elections and a rise in support for the populist Five Star Movement. This party has pledged to carry out a referendum on whether Italy should stay in the euro area. Some investors are already predicting the end of the European Union, let alone the single currency. “We think the EU will break and that Italy will leave the euro,” said Jim Smigiel, a U.S.-based money manager at SEI Investments Co. “Until a while ago this was just unthinkable, implausible, but we’re starting to see the wheels in motion, at the very least.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-28/why-italian-vote-unlikely-to-mean-swift-euro-exit-quicktake-q-a