euronews looks at the reactions from around the world as Italian PM Renzi resigns
ADVERTISEMENTItalians have rejected constitutional reforms at a referendum, and just as he said he would if his ‘yes’ campaign lost, Matteo Renzi has resigned as Prime Minister of Italy.
euronews looks at the reactions from around the world.
Brexit campaigner and former UKIP leader Nigel Farage tweeted his support for the Italian decision:
Hope the exit polls in Italy are right. This vote looks to me to be more about the Euro than constitutional change.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) December 4, 2016
Leader of the far-right French National Front party, Marine Le Pen, also tweeted her congratulations, saying “Italians have disowned the EU and Renzi”:
Les Italiens ont désavoué l'UE et Renzi. Il faut écouter cette soif de liberté des nations et de protection !MLP #referendumcostituzionale
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) December 4, 2016
( “The Italians have disowned the EU and Renzi. Listen to this thirst for freedom of nations and protection! MLP #referendumcostituzionale” )
Leader of the right-wing 5 Star Movement, who are seen to gain from the referendum result and Renzi’s resignation, Beppe Grillo tweeted that the result is “A lesson for everyone”:
Una lezione per tutti: non si può mentire per sempre al popolo senza subire conseguenze
— Beppe Grillo (@beppe_grillo) 5 December 2016
(“A lesson for everyone: you can’t lie forever to the people without suffering consequences”)
Pro-EU politician, and former chair of the Green alliance in the German parliament, Renate Künast, tweeted that she “had not imagined that the EU, with which I grew up, could be so questioned”:
Hätte ich mir vor 20 Jahren nicht vorstellen können, dass die #EU mit der ich selbstverständlich aufwuchs, so infrage gestellt ist.
fuecks</a></p>— Renate Künast (RenateKuenast) December 4, 2016
(“I had not imagined, 20 years ago, that the EU, with which I grew up, could be so questioned”)
But the reaction wasn’t uniform across Germany. A senior AfD (Alternative fur Deutschland) politician Beatrix von Storch tweeted “Renxit. Bravo.”, clearly comparing Matteo Renzi’s resignation to the Brexit vote in June. The vote was widely seen as a plebiscite on the EU, as well as Renzi’s prized internal reforms.
Renxit. Bravo.
— Beatrix von Storch (@Beatrix_vStorch) December 5, 2016
Conservative Italian newspaper Il Tempo have run an evocative front page, showing PM Renzi looking exasperated in defeat, below the headline “Oh NOoooo!”:
matteorenzi</a> perde il <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/referendumcostituzionale?src=hash">#referendumcostituzionale</a> La <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficialASRoma">OfficialASRoma trionfa nel derby Ecco la nostra prima pagina Vi aspettiamo in edicola! pic.twitter.com/vYMpDaiT88— IL TEMPO (@tempoweb) December 5, 2016
In the UK, the centre-left newspaper The Guardian say Italy “reels” after learning of the result: > Guardian front page, Monday 5 December 2016: Italy reels after referendum defeat forces Renzi to resign pic.twitter.com/rWZAAYXCtc
— The Guardian (@guardian) December 5, 2016
The Obama Administration has released an official statement, saying “The people of the Italy have spoken, and we respect their decision… Italy remains one of our closest and strongest allies, and this result will not affect our ongoing cooperation across a range of shared interests, from addressing climate change and the global refugee crisis to promoting global security and inclusive economic growth”.
The MarketsThe markets have been quick to react this morning.
The first signs of trouble came from Asia, as the euro fell 1.4% against the US dollar. The euro also dropped by as much as 2% against the yen, which is seen as a ‘safe haven’ of currency during times of instability.
European government bonds also took a hit in the first few hours after the result was declared.
10-year Italian and Spanish bond yields both jumped, by 0.07% and 0.06% respectively.
German bonds were also affected, though less violently, dropping 0.0035%.
Shares in troubled Italian bank Monte dei Paschi de Siena are predicted to open around 7% down this morning, according to traders.
The firm is attempting to find €5 billion for a recapitalisation plan, though financial turmoil in the wake of this referendum result may derail these plans.
ADVERTISEMENTOther banking stocks across Europe are set to be hit by the news, with UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo both predicted to open 5% down on yesterday’s trading figures.
Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France spoke in Tokyo after hearing the results of the referendum, and said he would “look closely” at its consequences, but added that the decision “cannot be compared” to the Brexit vote of this summer.