A referendum over Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's flagship constitutional reform will be held on Dec. 4, 2016 the government said on Monday Sep 26,2016, with the fate of his administration likely to hinge on the outcome.
Renzi says the reform will bring much-needed political stability to Italy and has repeatedly pledged to resign if voters reject his proposals to reduce the role of the upper house, the Senate, and rein in the powers of regional governments.
But most recent opinion polls have put the "No" camp ahead and Renzi now refuses to be drawn on his future, saying he does not want the issue to dominate the referendum debate.
Renzi originally said he wanted to hold the ballot in early October, but he has pushed back the vote to one of the last practicable dates allowed to him by law to give the government more time to win over a skeptical electorate.
"We want a more stable and more simple country," he said in a statement after the date was announced. "Whoever desires change, lend us a hand."
The constitutional reform, which was approved by parliament in April after almost two years of fierce debate, effectively abolishes the Senate as an elected chamber and prevents it from bringing down a government via a vote of no confidence.
Under the current system, the upper and lower houses of parliament have equal powers and critics say this is one of the reasons why Italy has had 63 governments since World War Two, none of them strong enough to survive a full five-year term.
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