The Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal have both dedicated articles to the possible impact of a No vote in next month's referendum on Premier Matteo Renzi's Constitutional reform.
"If Matteo Renzi, Italian prime minister, loses his constitutional referendum on December 4, I would expect a sequence of events that would raise questions of Italy's participation in the eurozone," wrote columnist Wolfgang Münchau in the FT.
Münchau said that the underlying causes were not linked to the referendum itself, but to Italy's poor economic performance since it adopted the euro in 1999 and the EU's failure to build proper economic and banking union after the eurozone crisis of 2010-2012. "The referendum matters as it could accelerate the path towards euro exit," the piece said.
"If Mr Renzi loses, he has said he would resign, leading to political chaos. Investors might conclude the game is up. On December 5, Europe could wake up to an immediate threat of disintegration". On its front page, meanwhile, the WSJ said that investors are preparing for turmoil after the referendum.
Renzi on Monday told Radio 24 that the December 4 referendum on the government's landmark Constitutional reform will have a political impact regardless of the result.
"There will be a political impact both if the Yes wins and if the No wins", he told the Sole 24 Ore financial paper's radio.
"The problem if the No wins is simple: everything in the Italian Constitution will remain the same - the most expensive parliament in the world, a totally convoluted system and a triumph of bureaucracy", he continued.
Renzi urged voters to focus on the reform rather than "what happens the day after".
The reform amends the Italian Constitution and, among other things, turns the Senate into a leaner assembly of local government representatives with limited powers.
It is aimed at saving money and making it easier to pass legislation.
Almost all of the opposition and a rebel minority within Renzi's own center-left Democratic Party (PD) are backing the No campaign.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
