Premier Matteo Renzi now
"counts for zero", the leader of the anti-establishment 5-Star
Movement (M5S), Beppe Grillo, said Wednesday. He said Renzi had
been "fired" by businessman publisher Carlo De Benedetti in an
interview with Milan daily Corriere della Sera Wednesday.
According to Grillo, the "countdown to December 4 has started,"
referring to a referendum on the government's reform of Italy's
political machinery. Grillo said "it's not easy to be a premier,
you always have to be ready to come out with a bigger whopper".
The M5S is among the opposition forces campaigning for a No vote
in the referendum on the reform, which may influence Renzi's
political future. The reform turns the Senate into a regional
body, ending gridlock and cutting costs - though critics say it
would actually complicate lawmaking.
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