The constitutional referendum and the saga of institutions reforms in Italy: Much ado about nothing

Abstract

The article reconstructs the process that had lead to the constitutional referendum held in Italy in 2016, attempting to evaluate the outcome and its political-institutional implications. It is divided in four parts: in the first part, it shows that the reform has failed in the lap of the history of Italian constitutional reforms; in the second, it summarizes the contents of the constitutional project submitted to referendum; in the third part, it analyzes the political, social, geographic, ideological and generational fractures expressed by the vote. The fourth part argues that the only institution to come out stronger in the recent referendum is the Constitutional Court, presuming a transformation in the sense of a juristocracy in the weak and fragmented Italian political system.

Keywords: Italy, constitutional referendum, form of government, institutional reforms, constitutional reforms, Electoral Law, constitutional jurisprudence.