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Victory in constitutional referendum to stabilize Italy: FM

Xinhua, November 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni on Tuesday said a victory of the "Yes" side in the upcoming constitutional referendum would further accelerate the reform path and help stabilize the country.

Speaking at the Foreign Policy Forum, Gentiloni stressed both factors were crucial to Italy and Europe.

"The definitive approval of this reform will stabilize our country, and speed up our reform path even further," Italian leading business daily Il Sole 24 Ore cited Gentiloni as saying.

"This is why the referendum is so relevant," he said.

In the referendum scheduled for Dec. 4, Italians will be called to vote a constitutional reform by approval or rejection.

Among major changes, the overhaul would demoted the senate into an assembly in charge of regional affairs, stripping it of the current equal law-making status with the lower house in an effort to streamline legislative proceedings.

Latest opinion polls have showed the "No" side to be currently in the lead, and a rejection of the major reform in the referendum might bring the Italian cabinet to resign.

A "No" victory might also have an impact on the European Union (EU), since the block was going through "the most difficult period in its history," the Italian foreign minister hinted.

"It (the EU) is in a sort of perfect storm, in which terrorism, migration flows, the rise of populism and the lingering effects of the economic recession -- especially youth unemployment -- are all there together," Gentiloni said, according to Ansa news agency.

The minister has sent a similar warning through the pages of the Financial Times newspaper on Tuesday.

"Renzi's government has not worked miracles ... but it has set Italy back in motion," Gentiloni wrote in an opinion piece.

Stability and reforms would have allowed Italy to regain its voice in Europe, and to encourage the EU to focus its economic strategy more on investment and growth, according to the minister.

"It has been a slow process, but it has born fruit as growth has returned," Gentiloni wrote.

"The reforms may not always be complete, and some may be controversial, but they are significant in a Europe crowded with fragile governments often held hostage to populism," Gentiloni added.

"Sunday's referendum has the potential to complete this process ... Alternatively, it could block everything," he added. Endit