THE ITALIAN REFERENDUM: WHAT’S AT STAKE?

The Italian government has announced that a much-anticipated referendum on constitutional reform is to be held on December 4th 2016. The aim is to make Italy, a more governable country. Currently, the two legislative chambers have equal powers, so bills must go between them until they are approved in identical form. The constitutional-reform bill would drastically curb the power of the Senate. The referendum proposes to radically transform the Senate – from a chamber of 315 directly elected politicians and six lifetime appointees to smaller “Senate of Regions”.