Pier Luigi Bersani, a former
leader of the left-leaning Democratic Party (PD), said on
Tuesday that comments by the U.S. ambassador to Italy warning
against a "No" vote in Italy's institutional reform referendum
were hard to believe.
Earlier, U.S. Ambassador to Rome John Phillips said that
"it would be a step back for foreign investment in Italy" if the
No vote won in the referendum on the government's overhaul of
the country's political machinery.
"The U.S. ambassador's words are unbelievable. Who do they
take us for?" PD grandee Bersani told reporters on Tuesday.
Earlier, several members of the right-leaning Forza Italia
and the Northern League also slammed the U.S. for interfering in
Italian internal affairs.
The government's reform amends the Constitution and, among
other things, turns the Senate into a leaner assembly of local
government representatives with limited powers to save money and
make passing legislation easier.
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