Constitutional referendum to shape Italy’s future

On Sunday 4 December, Italians will go to the polls to vote on a constitutional reform bill that could have wide-reaching implications for both politics and research.

Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi has bet his political capital on passing the bill, which would effectively abolish the powers of the Senate, the upper house of the parliament, while rebalancing power away from regions and back towards the Chamber of Deputies.

His party is pitching the reform as an opportunity to modernise the country’s notoriously slow government, and say that failure to adapt will risk Italy’s economic stability in the Eurozone.