Matteo Renzi: Italian Drama to Be Continued

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi resigned after his signature constitutional reform initiative was dramatically defeated, throwing Italy’s political system back into its historic disorder and potentially making it more challenging to handle the looming debt crisis.

Mr.Renzi sought to turn the Senate into a symbolic advisory group and to recentralize the power in Rome's grip, leaving regions with way less autonomy, but the Italian people dealt his vision a decisive blow when 59% of them voted to reject it. Italy is now thrown back into its historical pattern of political gridlock due to Renzi’s resignation, and even though early elections might lead to progress, they could also see anti-establishment parties such as the Five Star Movement and the Northern League strengthen their political power.

Amidst this stalemate, however, a looming debt crisis ominously hangs over the head of one of the EU’s largest economies.

For being dealt such a major political defeat, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is our MAN IN THE NEWS this week. To discuss this topic in more detail we are joined by Vladimir Sotnikov, Director of the East-West Strategic Studies Center (studio guest), Paolo Salom, political observer, Corriere della Sera, and Erik Jones, professor of European Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Bologna.

We'd love to get your feedback at [e-mail]