Italian PM Matteo Renzi delays resignation after President’s plea

Renzi said in his resignation speech: “Italy has chosen”.

However, the “No” vote which was anticipated as being a crisis for the euro has so far only been a crisis for Renzi himself – tendering his registration as a result of the vote.

As voting patterns in the referendum were published on Monday, it emerged that a surprisingly large group of No voters, 54%, told exit pollsters they rejected the reforms purely on merit, rather than considering themselves anti-establishment voters.

Silvio Berlusconi’s movement has been severely weakened since the three-time former premier’s tax fraud conviction barred him from office. Obama had hoped Renzi would stay on even if he lost the referendum.

Sunday’s referendum was over government plans to reduce the powers of the upper house Senate and regional authorities but was viewed by many people as a chance to register dissatisfaction with Renzi, who has struggled to revive economic growth, and mainstream politics.

Likewise, a commentary by Aldo Cazzullo in Corriere della Sera says that one of Mr Renzi’s main mistakes was that he “overestimated the consent [of the Italian people] to his reforms and underestimated social hardship”.

The Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has agreed to to delay his resignation after a personal plea from the country’s President. And people seem to think that it will, with an endless supply of quantitative easing and an assist from the European Union, whose leaders are going to take a breather before making Italy do more of the things that led to Renzi’s downfall and will nearly certainly lead to his successor’s downfall, as well. Party leaders are due to meet on Wednesday.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s says the rejection of Italy’s proposed constitutional reforms in a referendum will not affect its credit rating for the country.

“I take full responsibility”. Merkel said Monday: “I am sad that the referendum in Italy didn’t turn out the way the premier wanted, because I have always supported his course of reform”. Indeed, the DAX shot higher in the immediate aftermath of the Italian “No” vote widening the gap to the Italian index. 5-Star campaigned hard for a “No” vote.

Italy’s FTSE MIB stock index fell 2.0 percent at the opening but recovered to end the day only fractionally down.

Some investors had sold the euro earlier, considering the larger-than-expected margin of victory for the “no” campaign a blow to Mr. Renzi’s reformist pro-European government, while strengthening the populist and anti-euro 5Star Movement, now Italy’s largest political opposition.

Analysts remain concerned that political instability could scupper Italy’s efforts to resolve a bad loans crisis in the banking sector and spark fresh eurozone turmoil. If Renzi declines to reconsider, or the President does not open a round of consultations with party leaders to find a new prime minister, investors will not be at peace.

As soon as the “no” victory was announced, the likely 5-Star candidate for the premiership, Luigi di Maio, said: “Today, the arrogance of power has been defeated”. Opinion polls put 5-Star neck-and-neck with the PD. Wilders called that outcome “a vote of no confidence by the people against the elite from Brussels”.

Italy has suffered for years from a stagnant economy, and more recently has faced a migration crisis as the arrival point for hundreds of thousands of Africans crossing the Mediterranean from Libya.

Germany’s foreign minister has expressed concern about the result of Italy’s referendum, while lauding the loss of a right-wing populist in presidential elections in Austria.

But elsewhere, the established order is in retreat.

Grillo said a snap election should be held on the basis of a recently adopted electoral law created to ensure the leading party has a majority in the Chamber of Deputies, despite having previously called for this to be changed.