By: DailyForex.com
Churchill was suitably pithy about democracy when he said that “the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter!” No doubt, he would be horrified by the current fondness for referenda on hugely complex issues such as membership of the EU, for instance. It is not to say that “the people” shouldn’t decide about such issues, rather it reflects the difficulties of educating the (largely disinterested) general public sufficiently about the issue that they can make an informed choice.
The next European nation to play referendum roulette is Italy which goes to the polls next week. The Italian referendum seeks to gain approval for a raft of constitutional changes which would limit the power of the Senate, seeing power pass to the lower house with the aim of making the process of governing Italy more dynamic. The Italian PM, Matteo Renzi has gambled his own political future on winning the vote by promising to stand down if he loses (in contrast to David Cameron who promised he would stay to deliver the decision of the people of the UK whichever way the vote went!).
A “No” vote might trigger fresh elections in 2017 which will add to votes in Germany, France and the Netherlands which may have a profound influence on shaping the EU.
Critics of Renzi’s plan believe that it would give too much power to the government and according to ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi could “lead us straight to a non-democracy”. Others have suggested that such a situation might play into the hands of populist, Eurosceptic parties such as the Five Star Movement which has promised a future referendum on Italy withdrawing from the Euro. Renzi argues that such reforms are necessary to streamline the Italian judicial process, law making and to be able to deal with the Italian banking crisis effectively.