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| Italy Uncertain After Vote; Victory for Far Right as Matteo Renzi Departs | Italy Uncertain After Vote; Victory for Far Right as Matteo Renzi Departs |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| ■ Italian voters overwhelmingly rejected changes to the Constitution that would have streamlined the legislative process. | ■ Italian voters overwhelmingly rejected changes to the Constitution that would have streamlined the legislative process. |
| ■ The vote on Sunday was widely seen as a referendum on the government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who backed the change and said after the vote he would resign. | ■ The vote on Sunday was widely seen as a referendum on the government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who backed the change and said after the vote he would resign. |
| ■ The results represented another victory for anti-establishment movements in Europe. “Times have changed,” said Beppe Grillo, leader of the populist Five Star Movement. | ■ The results represented another victory for anti-establishment movements in Europe. “Times have changed,” said Beppe Grillo, leader of the populist Five Star Movement. |
| ■ The euro fell as much as 1.5 percent against the dollar in Asian trading after the vote, though it recovered most of its losses by the European morning. | ■ The euro fell as much as 1.5 percent against the dollar in Asian trading after the vote, though it recovered most of its losses by the European morning. |
| Italy woke up to uncertainty on Monday, with a headline in the daily La Repubblica declaring, “The No triumphs, Renzi quits,” echoing the sentiment in most papers. | Italy woke up to uncertainty on Monday, with a headline in the daily La Repubblica declaring, “The No triumphs, Renzi quits,” echoing the sentiment in most papers. |
| Commentators acknowledged Mr. Renzi’s dignified reaction to what mostly seemed a vote against his political tenure, and they called for responsibility from political forces. | Commentators acknowledged Mr. Renzi’s dignified reaction to what mostly seemed a vote against his political tenure, and they called for responsibility from political forces. |
| “Now the reality is the risk of a return to the swamps and to instability,” Mario Calabresi, editor in chief of La Repubblica, wrote in a front-page editorial on Monday. “A scenario that Italy really doesn’t need.” | “Now the reality is the risk of a return to the swamps and to instability,” Mario Calabresi, editor in chief of La Repubblica, wrote in a front-page editorial on Monday. “A scenario that Italy really doesn’t need.” |
| Mr. Renzi is to summon his cabinet Monday afternoon and will later tender his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella, who will hold talks with the political parties trying to form a caretaker government or call early elections. | Mr. Renzi is to summon his cabinet Monday afternoon and will later tender his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella, who will hold talks with the political parties trying to form a caretaker government or call early elections. |
| According to the Italian news media, one candidate who could lead a pro-tempore government is Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan, a technocrat. The speaker of the Senate, Pietro Grasso, a longtime anti-mafia magistrate, is also a possibility. | According to the Italian news media, one candidate who could lead a pro-tempore government is Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan, a technocrat. The speaker of the Senate, Pietro Grasso, a longtime anti-mafia magistrate, is also a possibility. |
| Although most opposition parties are pushing for elections to be held quickly, opponents of Mr. Renzi within his Democratic Party are more inclined to take their time. — GAIA PIANIGIANI | Although most opposition parties are pushing for elections to be held quickly, opponents of Mr. Renzi within his Democratic Party are more inclined to take their time. — GAIA PIANIGIANI |
| The euro fell against the dollar on Monday, though it recovered, and bonds fell across the Continent, amid fears that Italy would be unable to muster the growth needed to deal with crushing government debt and a shaky banking system. | The euro fell against the dollar on Monday, though it recovered, and bonds fell across the Continent, amid fears that Italy would be unable to muster the growth needed to deal with crushing government debt and a shaky banking system. |
| Initial market reaction to the vote was muted because investors had anticipated the result, based on polls, and had already adjusted their portfolios. | Initial market reaction to the vote was muted because investors had anticipated the result, based on polls, and had already adjusted their portfolios. |
| “This is a critical point for restructuring of Italian banking system,” said Ángel Talavera, senior eurozone economist at Oxford Economics in London. Rebuilding the banks is “critical for the economy,” he said before the vote. Problems at Italian banks could spread across the eurozone. — JACK EWING | “This is a critical point for restructuring of Italian banking system,” said Ángel Talavera, senior eurozone economist at Oxford Economics in London. Rebuilding the banks is “critical for the economy,” he said before the vote. Problems at Italian banks could spread across the eurozone. — JACK EWING |
| The vote results and Mr. Renzi’s subsequent decision to step down drew a jubilant response from other populist leaders in Europe. | The vote results and Mr. Renzi’s subsequent decision to step down drew a jubilant response from other populist leaders in Europe. |
| “Italians have disavowed the E.U. and Renzi,” Marine Le Pen, the head of the National Front in France, wrote on Twitter. “We need to listen to this thirst for nations’ freedom and for protection!” | |
| With polls predicting that Ms. Le Pen will reach the 2017 presidential election runoff, she has sought to build an anti-establishment platform calling for a “Frexit” and a “People’s Spring.” The vote in Britain to withdraw from the European Union, a process known as Brexit, and Donald J. Trump’s recent victory in the United States have put wind in her sails. | With polls predicting that Ms. Le Pen will reach the 2017 presidential election runoff, she has sought to build an anti-establishment platform calling for a “Frexit” and a “People’s Spring.” The vote in Britain to withdraw from the European Union, a process known as Brexit, and Donald J. Trump’s recent victory in the United States have put wind in her sails. |
| The National Front’s vice president Florian Philippot said on Twitter that the referendum in Italy was a “huge slap in the face of the E.U. and Renzi, its servant.” | |
| The far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who recently refused to attend his hate-speech trial, used Twitter to congratulate “Italia + Matteo Salvini,” a reference to the leader of the anti-immigrant Northern League. — BENOÎT MORENNE | The far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who recently refused to attend his hate-speech trial, used Twitter to congratulate “Italia + Matteo Salvini,” a reference to the leader of the anti-immigrant Northern League. — BENOÎT MORENNE |
| The populist victory in Italy was hailed by many like-minded leaders across Eastern Europe, where similar sentiments are on the rise, but their reaction was tempered by widespread concern that the results will accelerate the fraying of the European Union, upon which the region has come to depend. | |
| Poland, the largest economy in the region, seemed torn between praising a victory by populists who share its governing party’s anti-immigrant, euroskeptic views and worrying that a further splintering of the union would make the country vulnerable to potential mischief from Russia. | |
| “This would be a major blow not just for the E.U. but for the eurozone,” Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said in an interview with Polish state radio. “What will the future bring?” | |
| Katarzyna Lubnauer, a member of the liberal opposition party Modern, was among those who pointed with concern to parliamentary votes in Germany and France, where populist candidates also are on the rise. “All of this goes to show that Europe is in the middle of a crisis,” she said. | |
| Tomas Sedlacek, chief macroeconomic strategist in Prague for the lender CSOB, tied the Italian defeat directly to Mr. Trump’s victory and predicted a dire future. “Democracy, and the future of the euro in Europe, is truly walking on the edge of a knife,” he said. “If we disassemble the only project postwar Europe has been working on, we might never be able to put it back together.” | |
| In Slovakia, where anti-euro sentiment is widespread, many residents are convinced that embracing the currency led to higher prices for everyday goods compared to neighbors like Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic that kept their own currencies. | |
| “We can expect a referendum about leaving the eurozone,” predicted Richard Zulik, leader of Slovakia’s liberal Freedom and Solidarity party. “Italians have had enough of the European establishment, so much so that they refused some good changes.” — RICK LYMAN | |
| Finance ministers from 19 eurozone nations holding their monthly meeting in Brussels on Monday could find themselves facing a dilemma in the wake of the Italian vote. | Finance ministers from 19 eurozone nations holding their monthly meeting in Brussels on Monday could find themselves facing a dilemma in the wake of the Italian vote. |
| Even as the so-called Eurogroup seeks ways to stave off a financial crisis, ministers from fiscally hawkish countries like Germany and the Netherlands will not want to be seen by their own electorates as overly permissive toward Italy. | Even as the so-called Eurogroup seeks ways to stave off a financial crisis, ministers from fiscally hawkish countries like Germany and the Netherlands will not want to be seen by their own electorates as overly permissive toward Italy. |
| “The only way Brussels can do much is to try and make sure that ordinary Italian citizens invested in their banks are not hurt too badly or have their savings wiped out,” said Mujtaba Rahman, the Europe director for the Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy. | “The only way Brussels can do much is to try and make sure that ordinary Italian citizens invested in their banks are not hurt too badly or have their savings wiped out,” said Mujtaba Rahman, the Europe director for the Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy. |
| Failing to protect small creditors in Italian banks “will increase support for populist euroskeptic forces led by Grillo and the Five Star Movement,” Mr. Rahman said. “My concern is that the Germans and the Dutch will be more inclined to apply the rules to look tough on profligacy and keep populist forces at bay in their own countries.” — JAMES KANTER | Failing to protect small creditors in Italian banks “will increase support for populist euroskeptic forces led by Grillo and the Five Star Movement,” Mr. Rahman said. “My concern is that the Germans and the Dutch will be more inclined to apply the rules to look tough on profligacy and keep populist forces at bay in their own countries.” — JAMES KANTER |