Feature: Italians mull options as crucial constitutional referendum looms

A few days are left for Italians to mull over their options in an upcoming constitutional referendum that might prove a crucial turning point for the country.

On Dec. 4, voters will be called to have their say on a constitutional reform package, which the parliament had already approved with six consecutive readings in over two and a half years long debate.

Having not been passed by lawmakers with a two-thirds majority, the reform had to be submitted to a referendum, as the constitution requires.

Two will be the options: to confirm it, or repel it, as a whole. The citizens' response will be definitive.

Latest opinion polls have showed the "no" to the constitutional reform would be in the lead, but also that there is still a 15 to 25 percent share of floating voters, who will make up their minds only at the last minute.

On the streets of the Italian capital, however, some have already made their decision.

"I am going to vote yes, because I would like to see some change in the country while I am still alive," 73-year-old Matteo said, smiling.

"The part of the reform I like most is the one giving back the central government some powers previously transferred to the regions, which have often gone too far with their spending, especially in the public health sector," the man told Xinhua.

A crucial change in the constitutional reform would be the demotion of the senate into a regional affairs assembly. Currently, Italy's two houses have equal powers, and bills have to shift between them, and be approved in an identical text, in order to become laws.

If the reform is confirmed, the senate's seats would be cut from 315 to 100, and senators would lose the power to bring down the government, and vote on major issues.

According to Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's cabinet, this would streamline the law-making process, as such cutting Italy's notorious heavy red tape, and make governments more stable. Those who oppose the reform say it would just make the parliament weaker, giving too much power to the cabinet.

Of this key point, Matteo did not look much happy: "I would have prefer an even more radical reform of the senate," he explained.

Anna, 70, stood by the opposite side. She walked the streets of San Giovanni neighborhood with leaflets in her hands, advocating the "No" to the referendum.

"Mistakes can be made, yes, but when they are done ... are done," she told Xinhua.

The woman acknowledged there were some good parts in the proposed reform, such as the abolition of the CNEL (an economic advisory body) and the demotion of the senate. Yet, there were chapters she did not like at all.

"They should not have force us citizens to vote on this melting pot, they should have not mixed up so many different issues," she complained.

More specifically, she much disliked that the reform would change the rules for initiative bills: the minimum number of citizens' signatures to have them debated by the parliament would in fact increase from 50,000 to 150,000.

The younger generation of voters appears just as split.

"On the whole, the referendum will be an important step for Italy, no matter which side wins," 24-year-old student Domitilla told Xinhua.

"Personally, I am going to repel the reform, because I am against Renzi's government and all what it is doing."

The student was aware of the keen attention to the referendum's outcome being paid at international level, and of the possible political instability that could follow in case the reform is repelled.

Indeed, Renzi has put his political future at stake in the referendum, and a rejection of the constitutional reform may bring the current cabinet to resign.

"If the No wins, there will certainly be some political instability in the country, but only for a while ... After that, there will be a change, and that is exactly what I wish for," Domitilla said.

Lorenzo, a coetaneous medical student, was inclined to vote in favor.

"As far as I could understand, the demotion of the senate will speed up our legislative proceedings, and I believe this is a good think," he told Xinhua.

The young man believed Italy was burden with too much bureaucracy, and the reform would help scrap at least part of it.

Asked whether his college peers would share his opinion, however, he smiled and said: "Not at all. Among young people I know, the vast majority will vote No." Endit