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Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a
senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having been the secretary of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
(PD) from 2013 to 2018, with a brief interruption in 2017. After serving as the president of the province of Florence from 2004 to 2009 and the
mayor of Florence The Mayor of Florence is an elected politician who, along with Florence's City Council of 36 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Florence. The title is the equivalent of Lord Mayor in the meaning of an actual executive leade ...
from 2009 to 2014, Renzi was elected
secretary of the PD The Secretary of the Democratic Party is the leader of the Democratic Party, the main centre-left political party in Italy This article contains a list of political parties in Italy since Italian unification in 1861. Throughout history, numer ...
in 2013, becoming Prime Minister the following year. At the age of 39 years, Renzi, who was at the time the youngest leader in the G7 and also the first-serving mayor to become Prime Minister, became the youngest person to have served as Prime Minister. While in power,
Renzi's government The Renzi government was the 63rd government of the Italian Republic, in office from February 2014 to December 2016. It was led by Matteo Renzi, secretary and leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD). The government was composed of membe ...
implemented numerous reforms, including changes to the
Italian electoral law The Italian electoral law of 2017, colloquially known by the nickname ''Rosatellum bis'' or simply ''Rosatellum'' after Ettore Rosato, the Democratic Party (PD) leader in the Chamber of Deputies who first proposed the new law, is a parallel vo ...
, a relaxation of labour and employment laws with the intention of boosting economic growth, a thorough reformation of the public administration, the simplification of civil trials, the introduction of same-sex civil unions, and the abolition of many small taxes. After the rejection of his constitutional reform in the
2016 Italian constitutional referendum A constitutional referendum was held in Italy on 4 December 2016. Voters were asked whether they approved a constitutional law that amends the Italian Constitution to reform the composition and powers of the Parliament of Italy, as well as the d ...
, Renzi formally resigned as Prime Minister on 12 December; his Foreign Minister
Paolo Gentiloni Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who has served as European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission since 1 December 2019. He previously served as prime minister of Italy from December ...
was appointed his replacement. He resigned as secretary of the PD following defeat in the
2018 Italian general election The 2018 Italian general election was held on 4 March 2018 after the Italian Parliament was dissolved by President Sergio Mattarella on 28 December 2017. Voters were electing the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective membe ...
. In September 2019, he left the PD and founded the IV party. In January 2021, Renzi revoked IV's support to the
Conte II Cabinet The second Conte government was the 66th government of the Italian Republic and the second government led by Giuseppe Conte. The government was sworn in on 5 September 2019 to 13 February 2021. The government was supported by the anti-establish ...
headed by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, which brought down the government and resulted in the
2021 Italian government crisis The 2021 Italian government crisis was a political event in Italy that began in January 2021 and ended the following month. It includes the events that follow the announcement of Matteo Renzi, leader of Italia Viva (IV) and former Prime Ministe ...
. In February 2021, Renzi's IV supported Prime Minister Mario Draghi's national unity government. Renzi has been described as a centrist and as a liberal by political observers.


Early life

Renzi was born on 11 January 1975 in Florence, the second of four children. His father Tiziano Renzi was a small business owner and
Christian Democracy Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
(DC) municipal councillor in
Rignano sull'Arno Rignano sull'Arno is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence. Main sights *''Pieve'' of San Lorenzo a Miransù *''Pieve'' di San Leonino, with a terrac ...
. Renzi grew up in an observant Catholic family in Rignano sull'Arno. He studied in Florence at the
classical lyceum Liceo classico or Ginnasio (literally ''classical lyceum'') is the oldest, public secondary school type in Italy. Its educational curriculum spans over five years, when students are generally about 14 to 19 years of age. Until 1969, this was ...
(''liceo classico'') Dante Alighieri, where he passed his final exam with the grade of 60/60 but was nearly expelled because, as the students' representative, he refused to withdraw a school newspaper in which there was criticism of a maths teacher. During this time, he was a
Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...
in the Association of Catholic Guides and Scouts of Italy. In 1999, Renzi graduated in law from the University of Florence with a thesis on Giorgio La Pira, the former DC mayor of Florence. He then went on to work for CHIL Srl, a marketing company focusing on leafleting owned by his family, co-ordinating the sales service of '' La Nazione''. During this time, Renzi was also an
association football referee In association football, the referee is the person responsible for interpreting and enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. The referee is the final decision-making authority on all facts connected with play, and is the match official ...
at amateur level and a futsal player. In 1994, he participated as a competitor for five consecutive episodes in the television program ''
La Ruota Della Fortuna ''La ruota della fortuna'' was the Italian version of '' Wheel of Fortune''. The show has run nonstop since 1988 on Canale 5 and Rete 4, and switched from a trilon to an electronic board in the mid 1990s, like the U.S. version. Previously hosted ...
'' (a localised version of the United States game show ''
Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Art * ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...
'') hosted by Mike Bongiorno, winning Lit.48 million.


Early political career

Renzi's interest in politics began in high school. He was one of the founders of the committee in support of Romano Prodi's candidature as Prime Minister of Italy in the
1996 Italian general election The 1996 Italian general election was held on 21 April 1996 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic. Romano Prodi, leader of the centre-left The Olive Tree, won the election, narrowly defeating Silvio Berlus ...
; that same year, Renzi joined the centrist Italian People's Party (PPI), and became its provincial secretary in 1999. He also married
Agnese Landini Agnese Landini (; born 11 November 1976) is an Italian teacher, wife of former Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi. Life and work Landini was born in Florence, in 1976 and has one brother, Filippo, who is a priest. During her childhood, Landin ...
, with whom he later had three children. In 2001, Renzi joined Francesco Rutelli's Daisy party, composed by members of the disbanded PPI. On 13 June 2004, Renzi was elected president of the province of Florence with 59% of the vote, as the candidate of the
centre-left coalition The centre-left coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-sinistra) is an political alliance, alliance of list of political parties in Italy, political parties in Italy active, under several forms and names, since 1995 when The Olive Tree (Italy), Th ...
. He was the youngest person to become president of an Italian province. In the years as president of Florence province, Renzi expressed his ideas against "the political caste" and during his mandate reduced taxes and decreased the number of the province's employees and managers.


Mayor of Florence

After five years as the president of Florence province, Renzi announced that he would seek election as the
mayor of Florence The Mayor of Florence is an elected politician who, along with Florence's City Council of 36 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Florence. The title is the equivalent of Lord Mayor in the meaning of an actual executive leade ...
. On 9 June 2009, Renzi, by now a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
(PD), won the election on a second round vote with 60% of the votes, compared to 40% for his opponent
Giovanni Galli Giovanni Galli (; born 29 April 1958) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and currently a politician. In a professional career which spanned nearly two decades, he played in 496 Serie A games, mainly with F ...
. As the mayor, he halved the number of city councillors, installed 500 free WiFi access points across the city, reduced kindergarten waiting lists by 90%, and increased spending on social welfare programs and schools. One year after being sworn in as mayor and with his popularity in national opinion polls increasing, Renzi organised a public meeting with another young party administrator
Debora Serracchiani Debora Serracchiani (born 10 November 1970) is an Italian politician. Born in Rome, she is a member of Democratic Party, and was president of the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. In 2016, she proposed and got the approval of a regional l ...
at Leopolda Station in Florence to discuss
Italian politics The politics of Italy are conducted through a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system. Italy has been a democratic republic since 2 June 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum and a constituent assembly was electe ...
, after stating that a complete change was also necessary in his party. Other prominent PD members who aligned themselves with Renzi's programme were
Matteo Richetti Matteo Richetti (born 3 August 1974) is an Italian politician, a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and former spokesman of the Democratic Party. Biography Matteo Richetti was born in Sassuolo, Modena in 1974. He started his interest in ...
, president of the
Regional Council of Emilia-Romagna The Legislative Assembly of Emilia-Romagna (''Assemblea Legislativa dell'Emilia-Romagna'') is the regional council, hence the regional legislative authority, of Emilia-Romagna. It was first elected in 1970, when the ordinary Regions were inst ...
, Davide Faraone, a regional councillor from the Sicilian Regional Assembly, and
Giuseppe Civati Giuseppe "Pippo" Civati (born 4 August 1975) is an Italian politician and publisher, former leader of Possible (Italy), Possible and a member of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy), Chamber of Deputies from 2013 to 2018. Biography Comunal and Reg ...
, a prominent member of the PD in
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
and a member of the Regional Council of Lombardy. Following this public meeting in August 2010, the Italian media gave Renzi the nickname ''il rottamatore'' ("The Scrapper" or "The Wrecker"). In October 2011, Renzi organised a second public meeting, also in Florence, where he wrote down one hundred topics of discussion. During this time, he began to be strongly criticised by other members of his party closer to then-PD secretary
Pier Luigi Bersani Pier Luigi Bersani (; born 29 September 1951) is an Italian politician and was Secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), Italy's leading centre-left party, from 2009 to 2013. Bersani was Minister of Industry, Commerce and Craftmanship from 1996 t ...
, after his suggestion that Italian politicians of the same generation as then-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi should retire. In September 2012, Renzi announced that he would seek to lead the centre-left coalition in the
2013 Italian general election The 2013 Italian general election was held on 24 and 25 February 2013 to determine the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective members of the Senate of the Republic for the 17th Italian Parliament. The centre-left alliance ...
; the other four candidates for that position were
Pier Luigi Bersani Pier Luigi Bersani (; born 29 September 1951) is an Italian politician and was Secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), Italy's leading centre-left party, from 2009 to 2013. Bersani was Minister of Industry, Commerce and Craftmanship from 1996 t ...
, the PD secretary,
Nichi Vendola Nicola "Nichi" Vendola (; born 26 August 1958) is an Italian left-wing politician and LGBT activist who was a Member of the Chamber of Deputies from Apulia from 1992 to 2005 and President of Apulia from 2005 to 2015. He is one of the first o ...
, leader of
Left Ecology Freedom Left Ecology Freedom ( it, Sinistra Ecologia Libertà, SEL) was a democratic socialist political party in Italy whose bulk was formed by former members of the Communist Refoundation Party. The party's leader was Nichi Vendola, a former President ...
,
Laura Puppato Laura Puppato (born 17 February 1957, Crocetta del Montello) is an Italian politician. Puppato became engaged in politics in the 1990s within local environmentalist groups and was elected mayor of Montebelluna in 2002. She proved a very popular c ...
, a PD deputy from Veneto and
Bruno Tabacci Bruno Tabacci (born 27 August 1946) is an Italian politician and member of the Chamber of Deputies. He is the president of the Democratic Centre. In the past, he was member of Christian Democracy and served as the president of Lombardy from 1 ...
, leader of the Democratic Centre. His candidacy was criticised by some prominent PD members and to the party's left, among them
Rosy Bindi Maria Rosaria "Rosy" Bindi (; born 12 February 1951) is an Italian politician and the former President of the Antimafia Commission. Career Born in Sinalunga (Tuscany), she graduated in political science. She was standing near the lawyer Vittor ...
, Massimo D'Alema,
Stefano Fassina Stefano Fassina (born 17 April 1966) is an Italian economist and politician, member of the Chamber of Deputies and former member of the Italian Democratic Party. Since September 2018, he is the leader of the left-wing political association, Fath ...
, and Vendola. After the first round of the
2012 Italian centre-left primary election The 2012 Italian centre-left primary election determined the leader of the coalition Italy. Common Good, who will stand as common candidate for the office of Prime Minister in the subsequent general election, which took place on 24–25 February 2 ...
, Renzi gained 35.5% of the vote, finishing second behind Bersani and qualifying for the second ballot. Renzi eventually gained a total of 39% of the vote, against Bersani's 61%. During the 2013 general election campaign, Renzi backed Bersani by organising large public rallies in his support in Florence. In the election, the PD only gained 25.5% of the vote, despite opinion polls placing the party at almost 30%. In the
2013 Italian presidential election The 2013 Italian presidential election was held in Italy on 18–20 April 2013. The result was the re-election of Giorgio Napolitano, the first time a president had been elected for a second term. Only members of Parliament and regional deleg ...
, Renzi caused a minor controversy by openly criticising the candidacies of both Franco Marini and
Anna Finocchiaro Anna Finocchiaro Fidelbo (; born 31 March 1955) is an Italian politician. She was the Democratic Party's leader in the Senate from 2007 to 2013. She served as Minister for Equal Opportunities in the cabinet of Romano Prodi from 1996 to 1998. Bio ...
, two long-standing PD members.


Secretary of the Democratic Party

Following the resignation of
Pier Luigi Bersani Pier Luigi Bersani (; born 29 September 1951) is an Italian politician and was Secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), Italy's leading centre-left party, from 2009 to 2013. Bersani was Minister of Industry, Commerce and Craftmanship from 1996 t ...
in April 2013, Renzi announced that he would stand for the position of secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), causing his rivals to scrutinize him. The PD's loss of seats led to party members' doubts concerning Bersani's leadership abilities. Renzi's impressive resume at such a young age, in combination with his reputation as a political outsider thanks to his "Scrapper" moniker, made him very electable in comparison. He was supported by a number of his former political opponents, such as former party secretaries Walter Veltroni and Dario Franceschini, deputy
Marina Sereni Marina Sereni (born 8 May 1960) is an Italian politician of the Democratic Party (PD)David Sassoli, and Turin mayor
Piero Fassino Piero Franco Rodolfo Fassino (born 7 October 1949) is an Italian politician with the Democratic Party. He was Mayor of Turin from 2011 until 2016 and is a former national secretary of the Democrats of the Left party.
. Other supporters of his included deputies like Gianni Pietro Dal Moro, Francesco Sanna,
Francesco Boccia Francesco Boccia (born 18 March 1968) is an Italian academic and politician of the Democratic Party (Italy), Democratic Party (PD) who served as Italian Minister of Regional Affairs and Autonomies, Minister of Regional Affairs and Autonomies in t ...
, Lorenzo Basso, and Enrico Borghi, all of whom were considered close to the newly-elected Prime Minister Enrico Letta. The other two candidates for party secretary were
Gianni Cuperlo Giovanni "Gianni" Cuperlo () is an Italian politician, a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and former President of the Democratic Party. Biography Early years Gianni Cuperlo was born 3 September 1961 in Trieste.Marco Valeri"Gianni Cup ...
, a member of the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
and former secretary of the
Italian Communist Youth Federation The Italian Communist Youth Federation ( it, Federazione Giovanile Comunista Italiana, FGCI) was the youth wing of the Italian Communist Party (''Partito Comunista Italiano''; PCI), and the direct heir of the Federazione Giovanile Comunista d'Ita ...
, and
Giuseppe Civati Giuseppe "Pippo" Civati (born 4 August 1975) is an Italian politician and publisher, former leader of Possible (Italy), Possible and a member of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy), Chamber of Deputies from 2013 to 2018. Biography Comunal and Reg ...
, a left-wing-oriented deputy from
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
and a former supporter of Renzi. In the
2013 PD leadership election The 2013 Democratic Party leadership election was an open primary election held in November–December 2013. After having come first in the vote by party members, Matteo Renzi was elected by a landslide 68% in a three-way primary on 8 December. ...
, Renzi was elected with 68% of the popular vote, compared to 18% for Cuperlo and 14% for Civati. He became the new PD secretary and the centre-left coalition's prospective candidate for Prime Minister of Italy. When comparing it with the 2012 centre-left primary election, Renzi moved to the left and his electorate was not much different from that of the party's average primary. Renzi's victory was welcomed by Prime Minister Letta, who had been the vice-secretary of the party under Bersani's leadership. Throughout January and February 2014, there were multiple reports of persistent leadership tensions between Renzi and Prime Minister Letta. Many said that Renzi was pressuring Letta to resign in his favour, arguing that he should be given the right to become Prime Minister, as he was the PD's leader. On 12 February, Letta acknowledged these rumours for the first time, publicly demanded that Renzi make his position clear. Renzi subsequently called a meeting of the PD leadership for the following evening. Just before the meeting took place, Renzi publicly called on Letta to resign and allow him to form a new government. Letta initially resisted the demand; following a vote in favour of Renzi's proposal during the meeting, which Letta did not attend, he announced that he would tender his resignation as Prime Minister on 14 February. Under Renzi's leadership, the PD officially joined the Party of European Socialists (PES) as a full-time member on 28 February 2014.


Prime Minister of Italy (2014–2016)

On 17 January 2014, while on air at '' Le invasioni barbariche'' on La7 TV channel, interviewed about the tensions between him and the Prime Minister Enrico Letta, Renzi tweeted #enricostaisereno ("Enrico don't worry") to reassure his party colleague that he was not plotting anything against him. At a meeting on 13 February, the PD leadership voted heavily in favour of Renzi's call for "a new government, a new phase and a radical programme of reform". Minutes after the party backed the Renzi proposal by 136 votes to 16, with two abstentions, Palazzo Chigi, the official residence of the Prime Minister, announced that Letta would travel to the Quirinale the following day to tender his resignation to President
Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...
. On 17 February, in his last act as the mayor of Florence, Renzi appointed
Dario Nardella Dario Nardella (born 20 November 1975, Torre del Greco) is an Italian politician who has been the Mayor of Florence since 26 May 2014 and the first Metropolitan Mayor of Florence since 1 January 2015. On 1 February 2020, Nardella encouraged Itali ...
as Deputy Mayor Regent of Florence with the task of leading the city until the mayoral elections in May that same year. In an earlier speech, Renzi had paid tribute to Letta, saying that he was not intended to put him "on trial". Without directly proposing himself as the next Prime Minister, he said the eurozone's third-largest economy urgently needed "a new phase" and "radical programme" to push through badly-needed reforms. The motion he put forward made clear "the necessity and urgency of opening a new phase with a new executive". Speaking privately to party leaders, Renzi said that Italy was "at a crossroads" and faced either holding fresh elections or a new government without a return to the polls. On 14 February, President Napolitano accepted Letta's resignation from the office of Prime Minister. Following Letta's resignation, Renzi formally received the task of forming a new government from President Napolitano on 17 February. Renzi held several days of talks with party leaders, all of which he broadcast live on the internet, before unveiling the Renzi Cabinet on 21 February, which contained members of the PD, the
New Centre-Right New Centre-Right ( it, Nuovo Centrodestra, NCD) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The party was launched on 15 November 2013 by a group of dissidents of The People of Freedom (PdL) who opposed the party's transformation into Forza Ita ...
, the Union of the Centre, and the
Civic Choice Civic Choice ( it, Scelta Civica; SC) was a centrist and liberal political party in Italy founded by Mario Monti. The party was formed in the run-up of the 2013 general election to support the outgoing Prime Minister Monti and continue his polit ...
(SC). His cabinet became Italy's youngest government to date, with an average age of 47. It was also the first in which the number of female ministers was equal to the number of male ministers, excluding the Prime Minister. On 22 February, Renzi was formally sworn in as Prime Minister, becoming the fourth Prime Minister in four years and the youngest Prime Minister in the
history of Italy The history of Italy covers the ancient period, the Middle Ages, and the modern era. Since classical antiquity, ancient Etruscan civilization, Etruscans, various Italic peoples (such as the Latins, Samnites, and Umbri), Celts, ''Magna Graecia'' ...
. His rise to become the PD's secretary and eventual Prime Minister was seen as a sign of much-needed generational change; at the time he took office, Renzi enjoyed by far the highest approval rating of any politician in the country. On 25 February, Renzi won a vote of confidence in the Italian Parliament, with 169 votes in the Senate of the Republic and 378 in the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
. On 7 February 2015, after just under a year in power, five senators and two deputies from the SC defected to the PD, citing the leadership of Renzi as Prime Minister as the primary reason for their decision to change parties. On 20 March, Prime Minister Renzi briefly became ''ad interim'' Minister of Infrastructure and Transport following the resignation of
Maurizio Lupi Maurizio Lupi (born 3 October 1959) is an Italian politician. He served as minister of infrastructure and transport between 28 April 2013 and 20 March 2015. Early life and education Lupi was born in Milan, Italy, on 3 October 1959. He has a deg ...
due to a corruption scandal, involving public works on infrastructure, in which his name had been cited several times. Renzi held the office on an unofficial basis until 2 April, when
Graziano Delrio Graziano Delrio (born 27 April 1960) is an Italian medical doctor and politician, who served in the government of Italy as Minister of Infrastructure and Transport from 2 April 2015 to 1 June 2018. He previously served as the state secretary to ...
was appointed as the new minister. On 4 December 2016, after the failure of the referendum he proposed, Renzi announced his resignation. On 7 December, he officially handed over the resignation to the President Sergio Mattarella.


Domestic policy


Labour reform

Upon becoming Prime Minister, Renzi said that labour market reform, which was thought to be "long overdue", and was opposed by major trade unions and
organised labour The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...
, to introduce labour market flexibility, would be at the top of his agenda to improve the state of the
Italian economy The economy of Italy is a highly developed social market economy. It is the third-largest national economy in the European Union, the 10th-largest in the world by nominal GDP, and the 12th-largest by GDP (PPP). Italy is a founding member of t ...
. On 12 March 2014, the Renzi Cabinet issued a law-decree on fixed-term contracts, called the Poletti Decree, from the name of the Labour Minister Giuliano Poletti, as well as a bill proposing major reforms to the Italian labour market called the Jobs Act. A reduction in the tax burden of about
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
80 was announced for those earning less than €1,500 per month. On 30 April, Renzi and Marianna Madia, the Minister for the Public Administration, presented the guidelines for the reform of the public administration, which was approved by the Renzi Cabinet on 13 June, before becoming law on 7 August. In September 2014, the government sought approval for the Jobs Act, which provided for, among other things, the abolition of Article 18 of the Workers' Statute, which protected workers from unjustified dismissal. The proposal was criticised by organised labour, especially the largest trade union, the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), and its leaders
Susanna Camusso Susanna Camusso (born 14 August 1955) is an Italian trade unionist and former General Secretary of the CGIL. Biography Camusso became involved with trade unions in 1975, while studying for a degree in archeology (incomplete), and was an activist ...
and
Maurizio Landini Maurizio Landini (born 7 August 1961) is an Italian trade unionist. Since January 2019, he is the General Secretary of CGIL. He was also former general secretary of FIOM from 2010 to 2017. Landini is considered a socialist and is famous for his ...
. Moreover, the left wing of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
(PD), by then led by Renzi's rival and former PD secretary
Pier Luigi Bersani Pier Luigi Bersani (; born 29 September 1951) is an Italian politician and was Secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), Italy's leading centre-left party, from 2009 to 2013. Bersani was Minister of Industry, Commerce and Craftmanship from 1996 t ...
, criticised the government for the reform, threatening to vote against it. On 29 September, the National Committee of the PD voted to support the Jobs Act, despite the disagreements within the party, with 130 votes in favour, 20 against, and 11 abstaining. On 9 October, the Senate voted to approve the Jobs Act, and the landmark reform passed with 165 votes in favour to 111 against, marking the first step for the most ambitious economic legislation of the eight-month-old government. Before the vote, Labour Minister Poletti was forced to cut his speech short due to the loud protests of the
Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
(M5S) and
Lega Nord Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...
(Lega) oppositions, some of whom threw coins and papers. German chancellor Angela Merkel, who was visiting Milan and had been among the most vocal politicians regarding Italy's need for speedy economic reforms, said the labour law marked an "important step" to reduce "employment barriers" in the eurozone's third-largest economy. On 25 October, almost one million people took part in a mass protest in Rome, organised by the CGIL in opposition to the labour reforms of the government. Some high-profile members of the left-wing faction of the PD, including
Gianni Cuperlo Giovanni "Gianni" Cuperlo () is an Italian politician, a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and former President of the Democratic Party. Biography Early years Gianni Cuperlo was born 3 September 1961 in Trieste.Marco Valeri"Gianni Cup ...
,
Stefano Fassina Stefano Fassina (born 17 April 1966) is an Italian economist and politician, member of the Chamber of Deputies and former member of the Italian Democratic Party. Since September 2018, he is the leader of the left-wing political association, Fath ...
, and
Giuseppe Civati Giuseppe "Pippo" Civati (born 4 August 1975) is an Italian politician and publisher, former leader of Possible (Italy), Possible and a member of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy), Chamber of Deputies from 2013 to 2018. Biography Comunal and Reg ...
, also participated in the protest. On 8 November, more than 100,000 public employees protested in Rome in a demonstration organised by the three largest trade unions in the country, the CGIL, the CISL, and the
UIL The Uil ( kk, Ойыл, translit=Oyyl; russian: Уил, translit=Uil) is a river of western Kazakhstan. It discharges into the Lake Aktobe A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any ...
. On 25 November, the Chamber of Deputies approved the Jobs Act with 316 votes; the M5S, Lega, and almost forty members of the PD abstained from the vote to protest against the reform. On 3 December, the Senate gave the final approval it needed to become law. In January 2017, the Jobs Act was taken to the Constitutional Court of Italy; Renzi and his supporters said that the law was necessary for job creation and attract investors, while its critics responded that it diminished
workers' rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influen ...
without generating new jobs. The court rejected a petition, which received 3.3. million signatures, for a referendum to be held about the Job Acts. In September 2018, the Jobs Acts was partially repealed after the same court declared the compensation rules for claims of unlawful dismissal to be unconstitutional, on the grounds that these rules were not in line with the principles of "reasonableness and equality" and conflicted with the concept of "protection of work" as granted by Articles 4 and 35. In July 2020, the court accepted the questions raised from the tribunals of Bari and Rome about the same matter, ruling the compensation rules to be in violation of the constitutional principles of equality, reasonableness, and job protection; it was the first time that a ruling was signed by three women.


Economic policies

In March 2014, the Renzi Cabinet approved the auctioning of a large number of
luxury cars A luxury car is a car that provides increased levels of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and associated status compared to moderately priced cars. The term is subjective and reflects both the qualities of the car and the b ...
that were used to transport heads of state, including nine
Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...
s, two
Jaguar Cars Jaguar (, ) is the luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that was responsible for the production of Jaguar cars ...
, and various other cars such as BMWs and Alfa Romeos. Out of the 1,500 cars put up for sale, 170 sold immediately over eBay. In April, as part of his wider industrial reforms, Renzi forced the chief executives of Italy's biggest state-owned companies, including
Eni Eni S.p.A. () is an Italian multinational energy company headquartered in Rome. Considered one of the seven "supermajor" oil companies in the world, it has operations in 69 countries with a market capitalization of US$54.08 billion, as of 11 Ap ...
,
Terna Terna may refer to: Places * Terňa, a village in the Prešov Region of Slovakia * Terna River, Latur District, Maharashtra, India Religion * A terna is a list of three candidates for the office of bishop used in the episcopal selection process o ...
, Finmeccanica, Enel, and Poste italiane, to resign, citing a lack of public confidence in their leadership. He subsequently appointed women to the majority of new positions, making it the first time any woman had served as a chief executive of a state-owned company in Italy. In April 2014, Renzi's cabinet introduced the so-called "Renzi bonus", a monthly allowance of €80, recognised to holders of a total annual income not exceeding €24,600. The bonus, whose aim was to relaunch expenditures, was heavily criticised by the opposition, which labeled it as an "electoral baksheesh" for the
2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union, from 22 to 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candid ...
. On 1 August, Renzi launched a law-decree called Unblock Italy, which was intended to facilitate the implementation of major projects, civil works, and infrastructure that were suspended at the time, and achieve further administrative simplification. The centre of this was the ''Millegiorni'', or the Thousand Days Programme. On 1 September, Renzi launched the website ''passodopopasso.italia.it'', which allowed citizens to monitor the progress of the ''Millegiorni''. On 9 October, Renzi presented his first Finance Bill (''Legge di Stabilità''), which was approved by the European Commission on 28 October. A €36 billion bill, it included the largest tax cuts in a year (€18 billion), as well as tax evasion fight, plus the €80 bonus; it was criticised by trade unions like the
CGIL The Italian General Confederation of Labour (; CGIL) is a national trade union based in Italy. It was formed by agreement between socialists, communists, and Christian democrats in the "Pact of Rome" of June 1944. In 1950, socialists and Christi ...
, the CISL, and FIOM, while the
UIL The Uil ( kk, Ойыл, translit=Oyyl; russian: Уил, translit=Uil) is a river of western Kazakhstan. It discharges into the Lake Aktobe A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any ...
was more positive and Confindustria supported it. In February 2015, with the economy continuing to stagnate, the government announced a plan to abolish rules that limit cooperative lenders' shareholders to one vote each at shareholder meetings regardless of the size of their holdings. The European Commission subsequently forecast that the Italian economy would begin to grow by the spring. The government also announced the abolition of IRAP, a regional tax on production activities; discussing the 2016 Finance Bill, Renzi further promised to cancel IRPEF, IMU, and TASI, respectively taxes on individuals, public services, and residence, which was a flagship policy of the centre-right former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, and its tax-cutting 2016 budget was passed on 22 December despite concerns from the European Commission. Additionally, Renzi raised the threshold for cash payments three times with the intention to boost the economy, promising that it would not help tax evasion, and described it as "a simple, fair, and liberal measure" that "simplifies" and "encourages consumption". In 2018, Minister of Economy and Finance
Pier Carlo Padoan Pier Carlo Padoan (; born 19 January 1950) is an Italian economist who served as Minister of Economy and Finance of Italy from 2014 to 2018. Padoan was director of the International Monetary Fund for Italy from 2001 to 2005. On 1 June 2007, he b ...
admitted that it was a mistake. A 2021 study by Bankitalia/ Palazzo Koch concluded that the decision "increased the share of the illegal economy by 0.5 percentage points" and "a 1% increase in the use of cash leads to growth between 0.8% and 1.8%" of the black economy. In May 2015, the economy recorded growth of 0.3%, finally ending the Italian triple-dip recession. In January 2016, Renzi highlighted an additional 500,000 jobs that he said had been created through his policies. In October 2016, the Renzi government's proposed 2017 Finance Bill, an expansionary budget including deficit raising to cope with the earthquake and migrants emergencies, was seen as an increased anti-Brussels rhetoric, having warned of disaster if it was rejected. In an interview to '' la Repubblica'' on 23 October, Padoan said: "Europe must choose which side to take. They can accept the fact that our deficit goes up from 2% to 2.3% (of gross domestic product) to tackle the earthquake and the migrant emergencies. Or they can choose the Hungarian way, which puts up walls against the migrants and must be rejected. That would be the beginning of the end." On 24 October, defending the budget law, Renzi said: "We want to address the needs of Italian citizens, not Brussels technocracy."


Constitutional and electoral reforms

Upon becoming Prime Minister, Renzi stated that one of his most important tasks was to achieve constitutional reforms; by April 2014, the Renzi's government presented a constitutional bill of government initiative. The Italian institutional framework had remained essentially unchanged since 1 January 1948, when the Constitution of Italy first came into force after being enacted by the Constituent Assembly of Italy on 22 December 1947, and Renzi argued changes were necessary to make governments more stable; the system was created as a result of the Italian Fascist regime and to avoid such a repeat. The Italian Communist Party (PCI) pushed for unicameralism under proportional representation, being wary of unicameralism under majoritarian representation to avoid a tyranny of the majority and like part of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) seeing the Senate as synonym of privilege and prospering in the Fascist regime's shadows, while the
Christian Democracy Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
(DC) party advocated bicameralism through a
division of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...
to avoid one-party hegemony. The Action Party, the DC, the Italian Republican Party, and part of socialists won out over the PCI and dissident socialists, especially about the Senate. The actually-existing system was not the intended result of the assembly, which came about through later political choices and conditions. The first stage of Renzi's reform package aimed to abolish the so-called "
perfect bicameralism Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
", which gave identical powers to the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
and the Senate of the Republic; the reforms would substantially decrease the membership and power of the Senate. Constitutional reforms were in the air since April 2013, when then-President
Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...
instituted a committee for reform to avoid the repeat of inconclusive
legislative elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, as it had happened two months earlier. Under the reforms, the Senate's power to force the resignation of the government by refusing to grant a vote of confidence would be removed; only a few types of bills, including the constitutional bills, constitutional amendments, laws regarding local interests, referendums, and the protection of linguistic minorities, would need to be passed by the Senate. In addition, the Senate could only propose amendments to bills in some cases, with the Chamber of Deputies always having the final word, and the membership of the Senate would be changed, with regional representatives appointed in a manner virtually identical to the
Bundesrat of Germany The German Bundesrat ( lit. Federal Council; ) is a legislative body that represents the sixteen ''Länder'' (federated states) of Germany at the federal level (German: ''Bundesebene''). The Bundesrat meets at the former Prussian House of Lords ...
. On 11 March 2014, the Chamber of Deputies approved both the plans to overhaul the Senate and the second stage of Renzi's constitutional reforms, a flagship electoral reform law that would see Italy's voting system overhauled. On 26 March, despite objections raised by several parties in the coalition, it won a vote in the Senate on the bill reforming the provinces, with 160 voting in favour and 133 against. On 6 May, the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Senate approved the government's bill on the Senate's reform. Due to the ambitious reforms that provided for the Senate abolition, which would have led to, in the words of Valentino Larcinese, "a shift towards a ''de facto'' quasi-
presidential system A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separati ...
embedded in ''de jure'' parliamentary institutions", and an increase in the powers of the Prime Minister, plus a new electoral law, Renzi was accused by constitutionalists and politicians, among them
Stefano Rodotà Stefano Rodotà (30 May 1933 – 23 June 2017) was an Italian jurist and politician. Early life Born in 1933 in Cosenza, to a middle-class family of San Benedetto Ullano, he attended Liceo classico Bernardino Telesio in his hometown and later ...
and Fausto Bertinotti, of being an authoritarian and anti-democratic leader. Critics like the centre-left populist
Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
(M5S) and its founder
Beppe Grillo Giuseppe Piero "Beppe" Grillo (; born 21 July 1948) is an Italian comedian, actor, blogger, and politician. He has been involved in politics since 2009 as the co-founder (together with Gianroberto Casaleggio) of the Italian Five Star Movement ...
argued that the reforms would give too much power to the Prime Minister; the former centre-right prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has been controversial, argued the changes would "lead us straight toward a non-democracy." '' The Economist'' argued that the reforms would result in corrupted politicians being appointed in the Senate. Renzi and his government argued that the constitutional reform was long sought by the PCI and the political left; political scientist Nadia Urbinati commented that this was an oversimplification and that it was the political right that has attacked bicameralism, arguing that the reform had more in common with that of
Lega Nord Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...
's Francesco Speroni in 1994. In April 2014, Renzi proposed that Italy adopt what he called ''
Italicum The Italian electoral law of 2015, also known as ''Italicum'', was an Italian electoral law passed in 2015. The law, which came into force on 1 July 2016, regulated only the election of the Chamber of Deputies, replacing the Italian electoral l ...
'', a proportional representation voting system, with a majority bonus for the party which obtained over 40% of the vote in order to provide for stable and long-term government. To approve the new electoral law, which was opposed by the M5S and a minority of the PD, Renzi gained the support of Berlusconi, who was still the leader of
Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...
(FI), despite having been expelled from the Senate due to his sentence for tax evasion. The alliance between Renzi and Berlusconi was named the Nazareno Pact, from the name of the street in Rome where the headquarters of the PD are located, where the two leaders met for the first time to discuss the reform. The alliance, which included a secret clause stating that Berlusconi's rival and long-time centre-left leader Romano Prodi, a founder of the PD, would not become the president of the Italian Republic, fell apart and was called off by FI, in part due to the election of PD-backed, centre-left candidate Sergio Mattarella in the
2015 Italian presidential election The 2015 Italian presidential election was held on 29–31 January, following the resignation of President Giorgio Napolitano on 14 January 2015. The office was held at the time of the election by Senate President Pietro Grasso in an acting ca ...
. Renzi was criticised by many within the PD's left-wing minority for the deal with Berlusconi, as well as by the M5S of Grillo, who said the Nazareno Pact was the proof that there are no differences between the Italian centre-left and centre-right. Despite concern from some within the PD, ''Italicum'' was given final approval by the Senate on 27 January 2015 thanks to support from FI senators. On 28 April, concerned that the reform may not pass, Renzi announced he would hold a confidence vote to approve the electoral reform changes. The M5S, FI, and some left-wing PD members opposed this decision, with some seeking to draw comparisons between Renzi and
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
. It would be only the third time that an electoral law was twinned with a confidence vote after Mussolini's Acerbo law and the DC prime minister Alcide De Gasperi's "
scam law The 1953 Italian general election was held in Italy on Sunday 7 June 1953.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1048 "Scam law" The election was characterized by changes in the electoral law. Even if the ...
". On 4 May, the Chamber of Deputies approved Renzi's flagship electoral changes with 334 votes for and 61 votes against, the latter including a faction of the PD. The reform took full effect in July 2016; however, it was found to be partially unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Italy in January 2017, and was then repealed and replaced by the
Italian electoral law of 2017 The Italian electoral law of 2017, colloquially known by the nickname ''Rosatellum bis'' or simply ''Rosatellum'' after Ettore Rosato, the Democratic Party (PD) leader in the Chamber of Deputies who first proposed the new law, is a parallel vot ...
(''Rosatellum''). In a September 2015 interview in New York, Renzi said he did not need Berlusconi's votes for the reform, which he described as "a revolution", to pass. Having passed the Chamber of Deputies on 11 March 2015, the reforms to the Senate that would see its power diminished and membership changed were passed by the Senate on 13 October. The vote was won by 176 votes to 16, with a large number of senators abstaining from the vote in protest at having to vote on abolishing many of their own powers. The last vote was held on 12 April 2016, when the Chamber of Deputies approved the reform with 361 votes, while the opposition abandoned the house. On 4 December, the reform was rejected in the
2016 Italian constitutional referendum A constitutional referendum was held in Italy on 4 December 2016. Voters were asked whether they approved a constitutional law that amends the Italian Constitution to reform the composition and powers of the Parliament of Italy, as well as the d ...
and Renzi resigned as a result.


Immigration

As a result of the Libyan and Syrian Civil Wars, a major problem faced by Renzi upon becoming Prime Minister was the high levels of
illegal immigration Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...
to Italy. 2014 saw an increase in the number of migrants rescued at sea being brought to southern Italian ports, with the increase in the number of migrants prompting criticism of Renzi by the anti-immigration
Lega Nord Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...
, the
Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
, and Silvio Berlusconi's
Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...
party. On 8 August, the Renzi Cabinet approved a law-decree providing for the international protection of migrants. In November 2014, Renzi ordered the Italian-run rescue option Operation Mare Nostrum to be replaced by Frontex's Operation Triton due to the refusal of several EU governments to fund it. In 2014, 170,100 migrants arrived in Italy by sea, a 296% increase compared to 2013. 141,484 of the travellers ferried over from Libya. Most of the migrants had come from
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
, and various countries in West Africa. From January to April 2015, about 1,600 migrants died on the route from Libya to Lampedusa, making it the deadliest migrant route in the world. On 19 April 2015, a migrant shipwreck took place in the Mediterranean Sea, causing the death of more than 700 migrants from North Africa. Renzi, returning to Rome from a political event in Mantua for the
2015 Italian regional elections A large round of regional elections were held in Italy on 31 May 2015 in seven of the twenty regions composing the country, including four of the ten largest ones: Campania, Veneto, Apulia and Tuscany. The other three regions holding elections w ...
, held an emergency meeting with ministers and spoke by telephone to French president
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...
, Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat, and Greek prime minister
Alexis Tsipras Alexis Tsipras ( el, Αλέξης Τσίπρας, ; born 28 July 1974) is a Greek politician serving as Leader of the Official Opposition since 2019. He served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019. Tsipras has led the Coalition of th ...
. The call led to an emergency meeting of European interior ministers to address the problem of migrant deaths. In a speech addressing immigration, Renzi condemned
human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
as a "new slave trade". About the crisis, Renzi said: "Europe is the greatest political victory of the twentieth century, but it is fuelled by ideals, not by the short-sightedness of those who would raise walls. Europe is in danger of collapsing when it becomes simply a set of self-interests." In January 2016, his Foreign Minister
Paolo Gentiloni Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who has served as European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission since 1 December 2019. He previously served as prime minister of Italy from December ...
said: "A choice must be made between Dublin and
Schengen The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
. Both agreements cannot hold today."


Same-sex unions

On 10 June 2015, the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
passed a motion obliging the government to approve a bill regarding civil unions between same-sex couples. Previously, all of the
major political parties in Italy This article contains a list of political parties in Italy since Italian unification in 1861. Throughout history, numerous political parties have been operating in Italy, and since World War II no party has ever gained enough support to govern a ...
had presented different motions on civil unions, which were all rejected except for the PD's, which also called for civil unions to be approved. Shortly before becoming Prime Minister, Renzi stated that he favoured the introduction of civil unions for same-sex couples. In July 2015, several days after the European Parliament passed a motion calling on all members of the European Union to recognise same-sex relationships, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Italy was violating the Convention on Human Rights by not recognising same-sex couples' "right to family life". On 7 October, Renzi introduced a bill to the Italian Parliament that would establish same-sex civil unions and gender-neutral cohabitation agreements. The bill passed its first reading in the Senate a week later. Although Renzi secured the support of the PD and the main opposition
Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...
party, many conservative and Catholic members of parliament from both parties, including one of its coalition partners, the
New Centre-Right New Centre-Right ( it, Nuovo Centrodestra, NCD) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The party was launched on 15 November 2013 by a group of dissidents of The People of Freedom (PdL) who opposed the party's transformation into Forza Ita ...
(NCD), criticised the bill. Despite the bill being put forward on a free vote, Renzi made it clear that he would tie the civil unions bill to a vote of confidence in his government if it did not pass. Following months of public and parliamentary debate, the Senate voted in favour of Renzi's proposals to legalise civil unions on 25 February 2016, with 173 votes in favour and 71 against. An amendment known as the " stepchild adoption" provision that would have granted parental rights to a non-biological parent in a same-sex union was taken out of the bill at the last moment after it became clear a majority of senators did not support it. Although Renzi had expressed support for the amendment, the decision came after the
Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
backed out of an agreement to pass it; moreover, the amendment was opposed by the NCD. Renzi stated that the bill's passage through the Senate was a "victory for love", although he expressed disappointment that the stepchild provision was not also adopted, and raised the possibility of introducing it in a separate bill at a later date. On 11 May, the Chamber of Deputies approved the final proposals, with 369 votes in favour and 163 against.


Social policies

Renzi's so-called "schools package" was among its 1,000 days reforms to kickstart the Italian economy, and included hiring based on merit rather than seniority, favouring full-time hiring over substitutes, and increased teachers for disabled children. During a press conference on 3 September 2014, Renzi announced an online consultation with students, teachers, and citizens ahead of the major school reforms promoted by education minister
Stefania Giannini Stefania Giannini (born 18 November 1960) is an Italian politician and linguist. She served as Minister of Education, Universities and Research from 2014 until 2016. She is currently Assistant-Director General for Education at UNESCO in Paris. ...
. On 9 July 2015, despite the opposition of an overwhelming majority of teachers and students alike to the design of the school reform, this was finally approved by the Chamber of Deputies, with 277 votes against 173. During a ceremony at the Italian National Olympic Committee on 1 December 2014, Renzi officially launched the candidacy of Rome for the
2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...
. Renzi stated: "Our country too often seems hesitant. It's unacceptable not to try or to renounce playing the game.
Sport in Italy Sport in Italy has a long tradition. In several sports, both individual and team, Italy has good representation and many successes. The most popular sport in Italy is football. Italy's national football team is one of the world's most successfu ...
is a way of life and a way of looking at the future. I don't know if we’ll make it, but the Olympic candidacy is one of the most beautiful things we can do for our kids, for us, for Italy." On 21 September 2016, the mayor of Rome
Virginia Raggi Virginia Elena Raggi (; born 18 July 1978) is an Italian lawyer and politician who served as Mayor of Rome from 2016 to 2021 as part of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S). Raggi was both the first candidate from her party and first ...
, a member of the
Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
, told reporters the bid for the games would go no further. Raggi, having long been opposed to Rome hosting the games, cited ongoing financial troubles in the country as the main reason for cancelling the bid. She said hosting the games would be "irresponsible" and would only cause the city to fall into further debt.


Universal Exposition

During Renzi's premiership, Milan hosted the Universal Exposition; the themes were technology, innovation, culture, and traditions concerning food. Participants to the Expo, hosted inside the Expo 2015 pavilions, included 145 countries, three international organisations, several civil society organisations, several corporations, and non-governmental organisations. The opening of the Expo on 1 May 2015 was met with protest from anti-austerity activists, black bloc, and anarchists caused criminal damage, resulting in the police using tear gas. Expo also created some tensions with the Holy See and the Italian government; Pope Francis condemned the concept of Expo, saying that it "obeys the culture of waste and does not contribute to a model of equitable and sustainable development". As Vatican City invested €3 million to obtain its own pavilion at the event before his appointment to the papacy, Pope Francis said that although it is a good thing that the Church is involved in causes that battle hunger and promote cleaner energy, too much money was wasted on the Expo itself by Vatican City.


2016 earthquakes

At 03:36
CEST CEST or cest may refer to: * Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), daylight saving time observed in the central European time zone * Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory * Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer, a subset of Magnetization transfer in ...
on 24 August 2016, an earthquake measuring 6.2 on the moment magnitude scale struck Central Italy. The epicentre was close to Accumoli, in an area near the borders of the Umbria, Lazio,
Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...
, and
Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...
regions. The earthquake killed 298 people and left more than 4,500 homeless. On 1 September, Renzi appointed
Vasco Errani Vasco Errani (born 17 May 1955) is an Italian politician. He was a founding member of the Democratic Party (PD), which he has left on 22 February 2017, to join the Democratic and Progressive Movement, a party founded by the former PD left-wing ...
, the former president of Emilia-Romagna who had been already a Special Commissioner during the
2012 Emilia earthquake In May 2012, two major earthquakes struck Northern Italy, causing 27 deaths and widespread damage. The events are known in Italy as the 2012 Emilia earthquakes, because they mainly affected the Emilia region. The first earthquake, registering ma ...
, as Special Commissioner for Reconstruction. A magnitude 6.1 intraplate earthquake struck west of Visso on 26 October at 21:18 local time (19:18  UTC). The earthquake, which occurred two months after a magnitude 6.2 earthquake in August, struck about to the northwest of the August earthquake's epicentre. The civil protection estimated the consequences less dramatically than feared. According to official data, a man died because he had suffered a heart attack as a result of the quake. A third large, shallow earthquake of USGS preliminary magnitude 6.6 struck north of
Norcia Norcia (), traditionally known in English by its Latin name of Nursia (), is a town and comune in the province of Perugia (Italy) in southeastern Umbria. Unlike many ancient towns, it is located in a wide plain abutting the Monti Sibillini, a su ...
at 07:40 local time (06:40 UTC) on 30 October. This quake was the largest in Italy in 36 years, since the
1980 Irpinia earthquake The 1980 Irpinia earthquake ( it, Terremoto dell'Irpinia) took place in Italy on 23 November 1980, with a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). It left at least 2,483 people dead, at least 7,700 injured, an ...
. The three earthquakes caused almost 100,000 homeless.


Foreign affairs

During his premiership, Renzi faced several challenging foreign policy situations, such as the European debt crisis, the civil war in Libya, the Russo-Ukrainian War, and the insurgency of the Islamic State in the Middle East. Renzi formed a close relationship with US president Barack Obama, supporting the
2014 military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant In response to rapid territorial gains made by the so-called Islamic State during the first half of 2014, and its universally condemned executions, reported human rights abuses and the fear of further spillovers of the Syrian Civil War, many st ...
with hundreds of Italian troops and four Panavia Tornado aircraft, and also supporting international sanctions during the Ukrainian crisis after the
2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Revo ...
. Renzi forged a positive relationship with Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe, who praised the economic policies of the Renzi government. A key ally of Renzi in the Mediterranean was Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi; the two leaders held many bilateral meetings where they discussed the problem of
immigration to Italy In 2021, Istat estimated that 5,171,894 foreign citizens lived in Italy, representing about 8.7% of the total population. These figures do not include naturalized foreign-born residents (about 1,620,000 foreigners acquired Italian citizenship f ...
and the increasing tensions in the Middle East and North Africa. In the European Union, Renzi had a close relationship with French president
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...
and his Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who saw Renzi as a model for his Third Way policies.


Europe

Following the
2014 European Parliament election in Italy The 2014 European Parliament election in Italy took place on 25 May 2014. Italy elected 73 MEPs out of 751 European Parliament seats. The governing Democratic Party (PD) won the election with 40.8% of the vote and 31 seats, followed by the Fiv ...
, which saw the PD receive the highest number of votes of all the individual political parties contesting that election across the entire European Union, Renzi subsequently emerged as the most prominent leader of the PES. This was in opposition to German chancellor Angela Merkel, widely considered the ''de facto'' leader of the
European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
; the two leaders have been referred to as ''Merkenzi''. Renzi and Merkel had many bilateral meetings, the first on 17 March in Berlin, just a few weeks after Renzi's election as Prime Minister, where the two leaders discussed important reforms that the Italian government planned to make both in Italy and in the European Union. On 22 January 2015, Merkel visited Renzi in his home city of Florence, where she publicly lauded the "impressive" reforms carried out by his government. On the following day, the two leaders held a joint press conference in front of
Michelangelo Buonarroti Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
's '' David''. Renzi is seen as an ally of French president
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...
of the Socialist Party. On 15 March 2014, Renzi met Hollande in Paris, agreeing with him a common economic policy focused not only on the
austerity Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...
measures imposed by the so-called European troika of the European Commission, European Central Bank, and International Monetary Fund but also on more flexible policies to promote economic growth in the European Union. Renzi is a close personal friend of French prime minister Manuel Valls, with the two leaders often regarded as being heirs of the Third Way politics espoused by the likes of Tony Blair. On 7 January 2015, after the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris which caused the death of 17 people, Renzi expressed horror and dismay, offering his best wishes to the people of France, noting his close relationships with the French prime minister and Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo. On 11 January, he joined more than forty world leaders and three million people in the Republican marches organised by President Hollande. Renzi built a constructive relationship with the British prime minister
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
of the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
. During their first meeting on 1 April 2014, Cameron stated that the reforms planned by Renzi were "ambitious" and that together the two men would be able to change the European Union. On the same day, Renzi also met Blair, the former British prime minister whom Renzi had previously called a political inspiration to him. On 2 October, Renzi held a press conference with Cameron in
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...
, with Cameron lauding their similar policies to reform the European Union and overcome the economic crisis. On 1 August, following his party's strong showing in the European Parliament elections, Renzi nominated his Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini as a candidate to be the new
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Union (EU). The position is currently held ...
in the incoming-European Commission to be led by Jean-Claude Juncker, the former Prime Minister of Luxembourg. Mogherini was eventually successfully confirmed as the High Representative, ensuring that Italy controlled one of the two most senior posts in the European Commission. In September, Renzi participated in the
2014 Wales summit The 2014 Wales Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was a meeting of the heads of state and heads of government of the NATO countries, held in Newport, Wales on 4 and 5 September 2014. Such summits are sporadically held, and ...
. Before the official start of the summit, he had discussions with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, US president Barack Obama, and the other three leaders of the European G4 to discuss the crisis with Russia. This summit was the first held after the Russian military intervention in Ukraine and the
2014 Iraq conflict Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrele ...
with the Islamic State of Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. On 3 February 2015, Renzi received newly elected Greek prime minister
Alexis Tsipras Alexis Tsipras ( el, Αλέξης Τσίπρας, ; born 28 July 1974) is a Greek politician serving as Leader of the Official Opposition since 2019. He served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019. Tsipras has led the Coalition of th ...
of
SYRIZA The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance ( el, Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς – Προοδευτική Συμμαχία, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás – Proodeftikí Simachía), ...
in Rome. The two leaders held a joint press conference expressing concerns about
austerity Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...
measures imposed by the European Commission and stated that
economic growth Economic growth can be defined as the increase or improvement in the inflation-adjusted market value of the goods and services produced by an economy in a financial year. Statisticians conventionally measure such growth as the percent rate of ...
is the only way to solve the crisis. After the press conference, Renzi presented Tsipras with an Italian tie as a gift. Tsipras, who was notable for refusing to ever wear a tie, thanked Renzi and said he would wear the gift in celebration after Greece had successfully renegotiated the austerity measures.


United States

Similar to his predecessors, Renzi continued the long-standing Italian policy of a close relationship with the United States, building a partnership with President Barack Obama. Italy supported the United States in the military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and participated in the international sanctions during the Ukrainian crisis against Russia following their invasion of
East Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or east Ukraine ( uk, Східна Україна, Skhidna Ukrayina; russian: Восточная Украина, Vostochnaya Ukraina) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Khark ...
. Renzi met Obama for the first time on 24 March 2014 during the latter's trip to Rome. Renzi also held a joint meeting with Obama, Pope Francis, and Italian president
Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...
. Obama stated afterwards that he had been impressed by the reforms Renzi wanted to undertake. Renzi himself said that he considered Obama an example for the policies he wanted to achieve. On 22 September, Renzi visited Silicon Valley in California. In San Francisco, he met with young Italian emigrants who have created startup companies in the United States. He also visited the headquarters of Twitter, Google, and Yahoo! to hold talks with chief executives. Renzi was accompanied by former Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...
and
George Shultz George Pratt Shultz (; December 13, 1920February 6, 2021) was an American economist, businessman, diplomat and statesman. He served in various positions under two different Republican presidents and is one of the only two persons to have held fou ...
, and by the former American ambassador to Italy
Ronald P. Spogli Ronald P. Spogli (born 1948) is an American venture capitalist and politician. He is the former United States Ambassador to Italy and to San Marino. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 30, 2005, after being nominated by President George W ...
. He later spoke at
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
as the guest of university president
John L. Hennessy John Leroy Hennessy (born September 22, 1952) is an American computer scientist, academician and businessman who serves as Chairman of Alphabet Inc. Hennessy is one of the founders of MIPS Computer Systems Inc. as well as Atheros and served as t ...
. The following day, Renzi spoke at a United Nations summit in New York City, focusing on the problem of climate change. Following the summit, Renzi met former President Bill Clinton and his wife, the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. At the end of his trip, Renzi participated in a reception hosted by Obama. Renzi was received at the White House in April 2015. He and President Obama discussed many issues, including the
war in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
, the Libyan Civil War, and ISIL. They discussed Europe's economy, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, and climate change and energy security. In October 2015, the Italian government announced that it would prolong its military presence in Afghanistan along with the United States Army in order to continue its security mission and prevent the rise of Islamist forces such as
Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
and ISIL. On 18 October 2016, President Obama invited Renzi and his wife
Agnese Landini Agnese Landini (; born 11 November 1976) is an Italian teacher, wife of former Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi. Life and work Landini was born in Florence, in 1976 and has one brother, Filippo, who is a priest. During her childhood, Landin ...
to attend an official state dinner at the White House. The two men held a joint press conference during which Obama, the dinner being his final state visit as the United States president, commented that he had "saved the best for last", and the two reiterated their support for one another.


Asia

Renzi built up a close relations with Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe; the two Prime Ministers were both against
austerity Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...
and seeking to reform the constitutions of their countries. On 6 June 2014, Renzi received Prime Minister Abe in Rome. Abe publicly congratulated Renzi for the economic and constitutional reforms being delivered by Renzi's government. The two leaders also met in Tokyo in August 2015 and discussed about relations with
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and the stability of East Asia. On 9 June, Renzi travelled to Hanoi, Vietnam, to meet with President
Trương Tấn Sang Trương Tấn Sang (born 21 January 1949) is a Vietnamese politician, who served as the seventh President of Vietnam from 2011 to 2016. He was one of Vietnam's top leaders, alongside prime minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng and Party general secret ...
, Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, and the
Communist Party of Vietnam The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), also known as the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP), is the founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Founded in 1930 by Hồ Chí Minh, the CPV became the ruling party of North ...
's general secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng to sign economic treaties worth around
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
5 billion to the Italian economy. In doing so, Renzi became the first Italian prime minister to officially visit Vietnam since 1973, when diplomacy first began between Italy and North Vietnam. During the visit, Renzi placed a wreath in the mausoleum of the former North Vietnamese president Ho Chi Minh. On 11 June, Renzi met in Beijing with Chinese president Xi Jinping, who congratulated him for the "important reforms" being undertaken by his government. Xi also stated that China would continue co-operation with Italy ahead of Expo 2015 in Milan. Several months later in October, Renzi met with Chinese prime minister
Li Keqiang Li Keqiang (born 1 July 1955) is a Chinese politician who is the outgoing premier of China. An economist by profession, Li is head of China's executive branch as well as one of the leading figures behind China's Financial and Economic Affai ...
in Rome to sign twenty treaties worth a total of €8 billion. On 12 June, Renzi met Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana, where they discussed withdrawal of Italian Army from Afghanistan. On 18 November, Renzi travelled to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, where he signed with Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow a number of economic pacts securing increased gas supply.


Africa

During his premiership, Renzi started a policy review led to the creation of the Italy–Africa initiative, which included
renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
co-operation and a new package of development aid in fields stretching from health care to culture;
counterterrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...
has been a key part of his agenda, but the
East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...
region is also important to stop the migration flows from there to Italy through North Africa, especially Libya. On 4 March 2014, Renzi travelled to Tunisia, where he had a meeting with
Mustapha Ben Jafar Mustapha Ben Jafar ( ar, مصطفى بن جعفر) (born 8 December 1940) is a Tunisian politician and medical doctor who was Speaker of the Constituent Assembly of Tunisia from November 2011 to December 2014. He founded and has led the Democratic ...
. With Jafar, Renzi discussed about the problem of
illegal immigration Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...
to Italy from the coasts of North Africa. The trip to Tunisia was the first official one made by Renzi as Prime Minister. On 18 March 2015, after the
Bardo National Museum attack On 18 March 2015, two militants attacked the Bardo National Museum in the Tunisian capital city of Tunis, and took hostages. Twenty-one people, mostly European tourists, were killed at the scene, and an additional victim died ten days later. Aro ...
in Tunis, in which 28 people died and four of whom were Italians, Renzi condemned the terrorist attack and said that Italy is close to the Tunisian government and people. On 19 July, Renzi started a major trip to Africa, meeting the Mozambican president Armando Guebuza. Renzi signed economic pacts to create investments by the Italian government-owned oil company
Eni Eni S.p.A. () is an Italian multinational energy company headquartered in Rome. Considered one of the seven "supermajor" oil companies in the world, it has operations in 69 countries with a market capitalization of US$54.08 billion, as of 11 Ap ...
in the African country for US$50 billion. The following day, he visited the
Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
, where he met Congolese president
Denis Sassou Nguesso Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer. He became president of the Republic of the Congo in 1997. He served a previous term as president from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as p ...
, with whom he signed a co-operation for the extraction of oil in the country. Some journalists like Giuseppe Oddo criticised the meeting with Sassou Nguesso, who is considered one of the more corrupt dictators of Africa. Renzi later met with Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos in Luanda. During the visit, Renzi placed a memorial wreath in the mausoleum of Agostinho Neto, the first Angolan president. On 24 July, under the direction of Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, the government worked for the release of
Mariam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag Mariam eriamYahia Ibrahim Ishag or Maryam Yaḥyā Ibrahīm Isḥaq (مريم يحيى إبراهيم إسحق, born 3 November 1987 in Al Qadarif (state), Al Qadarif state, Sudan),
, a Sudanese woman had been who sentenced to death for being a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. Thanks largely to the good relations between
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
and Italy, Ibrahim was released and permitted to fly to Italy on a government plane. On 2 December, Renzi went to
Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
, where he met Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Prime Minister
Abdelmalek Sellal Abdelmalek Sellal ( ar, عبد المالك سلال, ʿAbd al-Mālik Silāl; born 1 August 1948) is an Algerian politician who was Prime Minister of Algeria from 3 September 2012 to 13 March 2014 when he took a leave of office to support Presiden ...
. With the two leaders of the country, Renzi discussed the 2014 Libyan crisis, immigration from North Africa, and also about gas imports from Algeria as an alternative to Russian imports, following the tensions between the European Union and Russia. In January 2016, Renzi continued his policy toward Africa; he had a three-days trip in Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal. The main tasks of this diplomatic trip was the fight against the
Islamic terrorism Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism) refers to terrorist acts with religious motivations carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists. Incidents and fatalities f ...
and the European migrant crisis in the Mediterranean Sea; with Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, Renzi signed an agreement on enhancing co-operation between the
Nigerian Police The Nigeria Police Force is the principal law enforcement and the lead security agency in Nigeria. Designated by the 1999 constitution as the national police of Nigeria with exclusive jurisdiction throughout the country, as at 2016 it has a s ...
and the Italian Police. Renzi has been one of the strongest supporters of Libyan prime minister
Fayez al-Sarraj Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj ( ar, فائز السراج or ; born 20 February 1960) is a Libyan politician who served as the Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya and Head of Government of the Government of National Accord from 2016 to 2021, ...
and of his government of national union. In August 2016, '' la Repubblica'' reported that dozens of
Italian special forces The Italian Special Forces include special forces units from several branches of the Italian Armed Forces: the ''Esercito Italiano'' (Army), the ''Marina Militare'' (Navy), the ''Aeronautica Militare'' (Air force) and the ''Arma dei Carabinieri'' ...
were operating in Libya for training and intelligence activities. These special forces were operating under the direct command of the Prime Minister's office.


Russia

Russia had previously enjoyed a privileged relationship with Italy, particularly under the leadership of Silvio Berlusconi, who was a personal friend of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Following the
2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Revo ...
in Ukraine, relations worsened. On 2 March, Renzi accused Putin of having committed "an unacceptable violation". During a speech to the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
on 19 March, Renzi stated that the
2014 Crimean status referendum The Crimean status referendum of 2014 was a disputed referendum on March 16, 2014, concerning the status of Crimea, in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the local government of Sevastopol (both Administrative divisions of Ukraine, subdivi ...
was illegal and that the G8 countries must start co-operating to solve the
2014 Crimean crisis In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The Revolution of Dign ...
and prevent a return to the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. In June, he subsequently participated in the
40th G7 summit The 40th G7 summit was held 4–5 June, 2014 in Brussels, Belgium. It was originally scheduled to be held as the “40th G8 summit” and be hosted by Russia in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. However, the other seven countries decided on 24 March t ...
in Brussels, the first one held after the suspension of Russia from the G8 following the annexation of Crimea in March. Renzi phoned Putin on 28 August, asking him to stop the "intolerable escalation" and to reach a peace agreement with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko to stop the
2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine From the end of February 2014, demonstrations by pro-Russian and anti-government groups took place in major cities across the Eastern Ukraine, eastern and Southern Ukraine, southern regions of Ukraine in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dig ...
in that regions. Renzi and Putin also had a bilateral meeting on 16 October, when Renzi hosted the
Asia–Europe Meeting The Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an Asian–European political dialogue forum to enhance relations and various forms of cooperation between its partners. It was officially established on 1 March 1996 at the 1st ASEM Summit (ASEM1) in Bangk ...
in Milan with 53 other leaders of the world. During the
2014 G-20 Brisbane summit The 2014 G20 Brisbane summit was the ninth meeting of the G20 heads of government/heads of state.
on 15 November, the two leaders had another meeting, where they discussed about the
war in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
but also on the civil wars in Libya and
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. On 5 March 2015, Renzi met President Putin and Prime Minister
Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...
in Moscow. The talks between the leaders was focused on international issues, such as settlement of the crisis in Ukraine, the situations in the Middle East and in Libya, as well as fighting terrorism. Putin guaranteed Russian support in case of a United Nations intervention in Libya against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Ahead of the bilateral meeting, Prime Minister Renzi visited and laid flowers at the Moscow bridge, near the
Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...
, on which the Russian opposition leader
Boris Nemtsov Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov ( rus, Бори́с Ефи́мович Немцо́в, p=bɐˈrʲis jɪˈfʲiməvʲɪtɕ nʲɪmˈtsof; 9 October 195927 February 2015) was a Russian physicist and liberal politician. He was involved in the introduction ...
was murdered a few days before. Through 2015, Renzi became one of the main supporters of a reduction of international sanctions against Russia and the establishment of a political and military alliance between the Western countries and Russia against
Islamic terrorism Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism) refers to terrorist acts with religious motivations carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists. Incidents and fatalities f ...
. Renzi questioned Nord Stream 2, a new Russia–Germany natural gas pipeline, saying: "I found it surprising that the South Stream project was blocked he Balkan pipeline South Stream was cancelled by Russia in December 2014 following obstacles from the EU">South_Stream.html" ;"title="he Balkan pipeline South Stream">he Balkan pipeline South Stream was cancelled by Russia in December 2014 following obstacles from the EU while now we are discussing a doubling up of Nord Stream."


Middle East

On 2 August 2014, Renzi met with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo, holding talks about a variety of issues, including the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict. Renzi stated that Italy would support the Egyptian truce proposal, with the two leaders calling for an immediate cease-fire and the beginning of peace negotiations. In making the visit, Renzi became the first Western world leader to visit President el-Sisi since
2014 Egyptian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Egypt between 26 and 28 May 2014. There were only two candidates, former Egyptian defence minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Egyptian Popular Current candidate Hamdeen Sabahi. El-Sisi won the election in a land ...
. On 15 January 2015, after the Islamic State's conquests in Libya, Renzi conducted a long phone call with Sisi, to discuss the terrorist threat in the Mediterranean. The two leaders agreed that the next steps should be political and diplomatic efforts through the United Nations. On 11 July, a
car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...
exploded outside the Italian consulate in Cairo, resulting in at least one death and four injured. The Islamic State claimed responsibility. The relations between Italy and Egypt dramatically worsened after the
murder of Giulio Regeni Giulio Regeni (; 15 January 1988 – 25 January 2016) was an Italian University of Cambridge graduate who was abducted and tortured to death in Egypt. Regeni was a PhD student at Girton College, Cambridge, researching Egypt's independent trade ...
, an Italian Cambridge University graduate student killed in Cairo following his abduction on 25 January 2016. Regeni was a PhD student at Girton College, Cambridge, researching independent
trade unions in Egypt Trade unions in Egypt first emerged at the start of the 20th century, although organised collective action in the form of strikes undertaken by workers was recorded as early as 1882. Following Egypt's formal independence in the mid-1950s trade unio ...
. Due to Regeni's research activities and left-wing political leanings, the security services of el-Sisi's government are strongly suspected of involvement in his murder, although Egypt's media and government deny this and say secret undercover agents belonging to the
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...
carried out the crime in order to embarrass the Egyptian government and destabilise relations between Italy and Egypt. On 20 August 2014, Renzi travelled to Iraq in the midst of the insurgency led by the Islamic State. He met with President Fuad Masum, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, and his immediate predecessor Nouri al-Maliki. On the same day, Renzi travelled north to
Erbil Erbil, also called Hawler (, ar, أربيل, Arbīl; syr, ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ, Arbel), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It lies in the Erbil Governorate. It has an estimated population of around 1,600,000. Hu ...
to meet Mas'ud Barzani, the president of Iraqi Kurdistan, and Prime Minister Nechervan Barzani. Renzi later told an American journalist that what he witnessed during his trip to Iraq reminded him of the images of the Srebrenica massacre that had horrified him as a child. While Renzi was in Iraq, the Italian Parliament approved a proposal to arm the Peshmerga soldiers fighting against the Islamic State. During the 69th United Nations General Assembly on 23 September, Renzi held a bilateral meeting with the Turkish president
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...
, at which they discussed climate change and increasing tensions in the Middle East. On 11 December, Renzi travelled to Ankara for a second meeting with Erdoğan, during which Renzi expressed his support for accession of Turkey to the European Union. On the same day, he met with Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. On 8 January 2015, Renzi made his first official trip of the year, meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...
to address issues of foreign and economic policy, including the Alitalia-
Etihad Airways Etihad Airways ( ar, شَرِكَة ٱلْاِتِّحَاد لِلطَّيْرَان, sharikat al-ittiḥād li-ṭ-ṭayarān) is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa ...
deal. The two leaders discussed joint co-operation domains and enhancing trade exchange and co-operation in energy and aerospace. As Prime Minister, Renzi had good relations with both Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president
Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas ( ar, مَحْمُود عَبَّاس, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 15 November 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen ( ar, أَبُو مَازِن, links=no, ), is the president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Natio ...
. On 21 and 22 July 2015, he visited first Jerusalem, where he met with Netanyahu and addressed the Knesset, and then
Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...
, where he met with Abbas. Renzi was the first leader to visit Israel after the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA; fa, برنامه جامع اقدام مشترک , barnāmeye jāme'e eqdāme moshtarak (, ''BARJAM'')), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement on the Iranian nuclear ...
, the deal reached between P5+1 and Iran. Whereas Netanyahu criticised the deal, Renzi supported it, saying that "Israel's security is the security of Europe and mine as well." In January 2016, Renzi met with Iranian president
Hassan Rouhani Hassan Rouhani ( fa, حسن روحانی, Standard Persian pronunciation: ; born Hassan Fereydoun ( fa, حسن فریدون, links=no); 12 November 1948) is an Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. ...
in Rome, the first visit to Italy by a President of Iran since 1999. The two leaders signed business deals worth up to €17 billion. They also discussed the war against the Islamic State in the Middle East and Libya. On 13 and 14 April, he became the first Western leader to visit Iran after the international agreement on the
nuclear program of Iran The nuclear program of Iran is an ongoing scientific effort by Iran to research nuclear technology that can be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran has several research sites, two uranium mines, a research reactor, and uranium processing facilit ...
. In Iran, Renzi met both President Rouhani and Supreme Leader
Ali Khamenei Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید علی حسینی خامنه‌ای, ; born 19 April 1939) is a Twelver Shia ''marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously the third president o ...
.


Latin America

After announcing an increase of Italian investment in Central America and South America, Renzi undertook a number of official trips across the continent, travelling to Chile, Peru, and
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
in October 2015. During his visit to Santiago, Renzi and Chilean president Michelle Bachelet launched a large number of renewable energy projects promoted by the Italian multinational Enel. Renzi also visited the
European Southern Observatory The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 mem ...
of
Paranal Cerro Paranal is a mountain in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile and is the home of the Paranal Observatory. Prior to the construction of the observatory, the summit was a horizontal control point with an elevation of ; now it is above sea ...
in the Atacama desert. During these trips, Renzi had numerous meetings with communities of Italian-born Latin Americans in these countries. In a surprise visit on 28 October, Renzi became the first Italian prime minister in history to make a state visit to Cuba. In doing so, he also became the first G7 leader to meet Cuban president
Raúl Castro Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz (; ; born 3 June 1931) is a retired Cuban politician and general who served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the one-party communist state, from 2011 to 2021, succeedi ...
following the
United States–Cuban Thaw The Cuban thaw ( es, Deshielo cubano) was the normalization of Cuba–United States relations that began in December 2014 ending a 54-year stretch of hostility between the nations. In March 2016, Barack Obama became the first U.S. president t ...
of relations between the United States and Cuba. In February 2016, Renzi met Argentine president Mauricio Macri during a state visit to Buenos Aires; Renzi became the first European leader to meet Macri after the
2015 Argentine general election General elections were held in Argentina on 25 October 2015 to elect the President and National Congress, and followed primary elections which were held on 9 August 2015. A second round of voting between the two leading candidates took place on ...
and the first Italian prime minister since Romano Prodi in 1998 to visit Argentina. During his premiership, Renzi has also developed close relationship with Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto.


After the premiership (2016–present)

Following the defeat in the constitutional referendum and the subsequent resignation as Prime Minister in December 2016, Renzi remained secretary of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
(PD). As leader of the main party in both the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
and the Senate of the Republic, he supported the new government led by his former Minister of Foreign Affairs
Paolo Gentiloni Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who has served as European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission since 1 December 2019. He previously served as prime minister of Italy from December ...
, also a PD deputy. In February 2017, Renzi resigned as secretary, only to be re-elected in the
2017 PD leadership election The 2017 Democratic Party leadership election was an open primary election held on 30 April 2017. The three candidates were Matteo Renzi, former Prime Minister and party secretary until February 2017, Michele Emiliano, President of Apulia, and A ...
in April. Following poor results in the
2018 Italian general election The 2018 Italian general election was held on 4 March 2018 after the Italian Parliament was dissolved by President Sergio Mattarella on 28 December 2017. Voters were electing the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective membe ...
, Renzi resigned as secretary for good in March. In September 2019, Renzi left the PD to found the liberal party Italia Viva (IV). As a member of the PD, the party moved at the opposition in June 2018 against the populist Conte I Cabinet of Lega
Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
(M5S). In August 2019, Renzi played a key role in returning the PD to government with the M5S and the left-wing Free and Equal; he then joined the government with IV to keep Lega and
Matteo Salvini Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been List of Federal ...
out of power, leading to both the rise and fall of the
Conte II Cabinet The second Conte government was the 66th government of the Italian Republic and the second government led by Giuseppe Conte. The government was sworn in on 5 September 2019 to 13 February 2021. The government was supported by the anti-establish ...
through the
2021 Italian government crisis The 2021 Italian government crisis was a political event in Italy that began in January 2021 and ended the following month. It includes the events that follow the announcement of Matteo Renzi, leader of Italia Viva (IV) and former Prime Ministe ...
in January, and then supporting the national-unity government of the Draghi Cabinet in February 2021.


2017 leadership election and party split

During the PD National Assembly on 19 February 2017, Renzi resigned as the party secretary, announcing his candidacy for the next leadership election. A few days before, he launched the movement ''In Cammino'' ("On the Way") in support of his candidacy. Contextually, a large portion of the party's internal left wing, led by Enrico Rossi and Roberto Speranza, who were endorsed by former party leaders Massimo D'Alema,
Pier Luigi Bersani Pier Luigi Bersani (; born 29 September 1951) is an Italian politician and was Secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), Italy's leading centre-left party, from 2009 to 2013. Bersani was Minister of Industry, Commerce and Craftmanship from 1996 t ...
, and
Guglielmo Epifani Guglielmo Epifani (24 March 1950 – 7 June 2021) was an Italian trade unionist and politician. From 2002 to 2010, he was the General Secretary of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), which was the biggest trade union in Europe. O ...
, left the PD and founded
Article 1 – Democratic and Progressive Movement Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...
(MDP), along with splinters from
Italian Left Italian Left ( it, Sinistra Italiana, SI) is a left-wing political party in Italy. SI was launched in November 2015 as a parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies (full name: Italian Left – Left Ecology Freedom), including Left Ecology Fr ...
(SI). On 6 March, Renzi presented his electoral programme, in which he expressed his intention to renovate the party, Italy, and Europe. He also announced an electoral ticket with the Agriculture Minister
Maurizio Martina Maurizio Martina (born 9 September 1978) is an Italian politician and member of the Chamber of Deputies, who served as secretary of the Democratic Party (PD) from March to November 2018, being appointed after the 2018 Italian general election. ...
, who became deputy secretary. From 10 to 12 March, Renzi and his supporters participated in Lingotto '17, a convention based in the district of
Lingotto Lingotto is the name of a district of Turin, Italy, as well as the name of the Lingotto building in Via Nizza. It once housed a car factory built by Italian automotive company Fiat and today houses the administrative headquarters of the manufact ...
in Turin, where the PD was founded ten years before under the leadership of Walter Veltroni. During his speech, Renzi condemned the
Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
, accused of being a populist party controlled by a private company, and
Lega Nord Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...
, which uses fear to gain votes. Renzi attacked also European bureaucrats and proposed a
primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
to appoint the PES candidate for the European Commission presidency and the direct election of the European president. Among the notable participants of the pro-Renzi convention were Prime Minister
Paolo Gentiloni Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who has served as European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission since 1 December 2019. He previously served as prime minister of Italy from December ...
, ministers like
Pier Carlo Padoan Pier Carlo Padoan (; born 19 January 1950) is an Italian economist who served as Minister of Economy and Finance of Italy from 2014 to 2018. Padoan was director of the International Monetary Fund for Italy from 2001 to 2005. On 1 June 2007, he b ...
, Dario Franceschini,
Graziano Delrio Graziano Delrio (born 27 April 1960) is an Italian medical doctor and politician, who served in the government of Italy as Minister of Infrastructure and Transport from 2 April 2015 to 1 June 2018. He previously served as the state secretary to ...
, Marianna Madia, and Roberta Pinotti, and secretary
Maria Elena Boschi Maria Elena Boschi, (; born 24 January 1981) is an Italian lawyer and politician, member of the Chamber of Deputies since 2013. As a member of the Democratic Party, Boschi has served as Minister for Constitutional Reforms and Relations with th ...
. Emma Bonino,
Italian Radicals The Italian Radicals ( it, Radicali Italiani, RI) is a liberal and libertarian political party in Italy. Founded on 14 July 2001 with Daniele Capezzone as their first secretary, the party describes itself as "''liberale'', ''liberista'' nd''lib ...
leader and former Foreign Affairs Minister, also participated in the rally. The other two candidates for the leadership election were president of Apulia Michele Emiliano and Minister of Justice
Andrea Orlando Andrea Orlando (born 8 February 1969) is an Italian politician who served as minister of labour and social policies from 2021 to 2022 in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Mario Draghi. From 2013 to 2018 he served as minister of the environment ...
. Emiliano was an outspoken former magistrate with strong support in the poor South expected to join the dissidents in MDP but decided instead to challenge Renzi from within the mainstream party; he is often described as a democratic socialist and populist politician. Orlando is a
social-democratic Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
politician and a leading member of the party since the foundation, often described as the candidate of the social-democratic establishment of the party. After having won the March vote by party members with almost 67% of votes, Renzi won the PD's April primary by a landslide with 69.2% of votes, while Orlando received 19.9% and Emiliano 10.9% of votes. On 1 May, Renzi was certified to have been re-elected as the party secretary.


Second term as party secretary

After the rejection of the constitutional reform, the parliament had to change the
Italian electoral law of 2015 The Italian electoral law of 2015, also known as ''Italicum'', was an Italian electoral law passed in 2015. The law, which came into force on 1 July 2016, regulated only the election of the Chamber of Deputies, replacing the Italian electoral l ...
proposed by Renzi's government; the so-called ''Italicum'' regulated only the election of the Chamber of Deputies, and not the one of the Senate, which, had the reform passed, would be
indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office (direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the old ...
by citizens. After the re-election as secretary, Renzi proposed a new electoral law called ''
Mattarellum The Italian electoral law of 1993 (better known as Mattarellum) was a reform of the electoral laws of Italy, passed on 4 August 1993. The nickname, conceived by Giovanni Sartori, derived from its author Sergio Mattarella. The law was also nickname ...
bis'', better known as ''
Rosatellum The Italian electoral law of 2017, colloquially known by the nickname ''Rosatellum bis'' or simply ''Rosatellum'' after Ettore Rosato, the Democratic Party (PD) leader in the Chamber of Deputies who first proposed the new law, is a parallel voti ...
'', from the name of his main proponent
Ettore Rosato Ettore Rosato (born 28 July 1968) is an Italian politician, member of the Chamber of Deputies, and formerly leader of the Democratic Party in the Chamber. Political career Rosato was born in Trieste in 1968. He started his interest in politics w ...
, PD leader in the Chamber of Deputies. This electoral law was similar to the one which was applied in Italy from 1993 to 2004. ''Rosatellum'' used an additional member system, which act as a mixed system, with 36% of seats allocated using a first-past-the-post voting system and 64% using proportional representation, with one round of voting. The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate did not differ in the way they allocated the proportional seats, both using the D'Hondt method of allocating seats. The new electoral law was supported by PD and his government ally Popular Alternative but also by the opposition parties
Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...
and
Lega Nord Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...
. Despite many protests from the
Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
and the MDP, the electoral law was approved on 12 October by the Chamber of Deputies with 375 votes in favor and 215 against, and by the Senate with 214 votes against 61 on 26 October. The PD's electoral programme for the
2018 Italian general election The 2018 Italian general election was held on 4 March 2018 after the Italian Parliament was dissolved by President Sergio Mattarella on 28 December 2017. Voters were electing the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective membe ...
included, among the main points, the introduction of a minimum hourly wage of €10, a measure that would affect 15% of workers, that is those workers who do not adhere to the national collective agreements; a cut of the contributory wedge for permanent contracts; a relocation allowance and an increase in subsidies for the unemployed; a monthly allowance of €80 for parents for each minor child; fiscal detraction of €240 for parents with children; and the progressive reduction of IRPEF and IRES rates, respectively the Italian income tax and the
corporate tax A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax, is a direct tax imposed on the income or capital of corporations or analogous legal entities. Many countries impose such taxes at the national level, and a similar tax may be imposed at ...
. Moreover, the PD advocated the re-launch of the process of
European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...
and federation towards the formation of the United States of Europe. In the election, Renzi's
centre-left coalition The centre-left coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-sinistra) is an political alliance, alliance of list of political parties in Italy, political parties in Italy active, under several forms and names, since 1995 when The Olive Tree (Italy), Th ...
arrived third behind the
centre-right coalition The centre-right coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-destra) is an alliance of political parties in Italy, active—under several forms and names—since 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi entered politics and formed his Forza Italia party. Despite ...
, in which
Matteo Salvini Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been List of Federal ...
's
League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...
was the main political force, and the
Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
of Luigi Di Maio that came first as a party. On 5 March, Renzi announced that the PD would be in opposition during this legislature and resign as secretary when a new cabinet is formed. Renzi officially resigned on 12 March during the PD's national directorate, and his deputy secretary Martina was appointed acting leader.


Leader of Italia Viva

In August 2019, Deputy Prime Minister and Lega's leader
Matteo Salvini Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been List of Federal ...
announced a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte after growing tensions within the majority. Many political analysts believed the no confidence motion was an attempt to force early elections to improve Lega's standing in Parliament, ensuring Salvini could become the next Prime Minister. On 20 August, following the parliamentary debate at the Senate, in which Conte accused Salvini of being a political opportunist who "had triggered the political crisis only to serve his personal interest" and stated "this government ends here", the Prime Minister resigned his post to President Sergio Mattarella. Despite having always opposed it in the past, Renzi strongly advocated the formation of a new government between the PD and the populist
Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
in August 2019. After days of tensions within the PD, Nicola Zingaretti, the new PD's leader, announced his favorable position regarding a new government with the M5S on 28 August, with Conte at its head. On the same day, President Mattarella summoned Conte to the Quirinal Palace for the 29 August to give him the task of forming a new cabinet. Renzi was seen by many political analysts and journalists as the real kingmaker of the new parliamentary majority. In an interview to '' la Repubblica'' on 17 September, Renzi announced his intention to leave the PD, creating new parliamentary groups led by him. On the same day, interviewed by
Bruno Vespa Bruno Paolo Vespa (born 27 May 1944) is an Italian television and newspaper journalist. A former director of the Italian state-owned TV channel Rai Uno's news program TG1, Vespa is the founding host of the program ''Porta a Porta'' (English:"Door ...
in his TV show '' Porta a Porta'', he officially launched the political movement Italia Viva (IV). Between December 2020 and January 2021, discussions arose within the government coalition between Renzi and Prime Minister Conte. Renzi called for radical changes to the government's economic recovery plans after the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy and also demanded that Conte cede his mandate over the secret services coordination task. During his end-of-year press conference, Conte declined Renzi's requests, saying that he still had a parliamentary majority. After a few days, Renzi threatened to pull back IV's two ministers,
Teresa Bellanova Teresa Bellanova (born 17 August 1958) is an Italian politician and trade unionist, who served as Minister of Agriculture from September 2019 to January 2021 in the government of Giuseppe Conte. In 2018, she was elected in the Italian Senate for ...
 and
Elena Bonetti Elena Bonetti (born 12 April 1974) is an Italian politician and mathematician who served as Minister for Family and Equal Opportunities between 2019 and 2022. Biography Elena Bonetti was born on 12 April 1974 in Asola, Lombardy. She graduated f ...
, from the upcoming
Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
, summoned to approve the Next Generation EU. During a press conference on 13 January, Renzi announced the resignation of IV's ministers Bellanova and Bonetti, officially opening the
2021 Italian government crisis The 2021 Italian government crisis was a political event in Italy that began in January 2021 and ended the following month. It includes the events that follow the announcement of Matteo Renzi, leader of Italia Viva (IV) and former Prime Ministe ...
. Renzi was instrumental in getting Mario Draghi as Prime Minister, with IV supporting Draghi's vote of confidence for a national unity government. In the
2022 Italian presidential election The 2022 Italian presidential election was held in Rome between 24 and 29 January 2022. The president of Italy was elected by a joint assembly composed of the Italian Parliament and regional representatives. The election process extended over mu ...
, Renzi supported candidate Pier Ferdinando Casini, a centrist close to the centre-right, having qualms about the precedent of re-electing the incumbent president Mattarella; after Casini failed to gain support and rejecting the candidature of Elisabetta Belloni, the head of secret services, which he criticized as "only appeningin an anti-democratic country", Renzi joined the governing parties in asking Mattarella to accept a second term.


Elections


2014 European Parliament election

In the European Parliament elections held on 25 May 2014, the first national election Renzi had faced since becoming Prime Minister, his
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
(PD) won 40.8% of the vote with 11,203,231 votes, becoming by far the largest party in the country with 31 members of the European Parliament (MEPs). The PD won the most votes of any single party across the whole of the European Union, won the largest number of MEPs for any single party, and the largest party within the
Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) is the political group in the European Parliament of the Party of European Socialists (PES). The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats was officially founded as a Socialist ...
, the PD's
European Parliament group The political groups of the European Parliament are the officially recognised political groups consisting of legislators of aligned ideologies in the European Parliament. The European Parliament is unique among supranational assemblies in th ...
. The PD's vote share was the best result for an Italian party in a nationwide election since the
1958 Italian general election The 1958 Italian general election was held in Italy on 25 May 1958. The number of MPs to be elected was calculated upon the population's size for the last time. Electoral system Minor changes were made to the electoral law in 1958, creating a syst ...
, when
Christian Democracy Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
won 42.4% of the vote. The positive electoral result enabled Renzi to successfully nominate his Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini as the new
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Union (EU). The position is currently held ...
, ensuring that an Italian would occupy one of the European Union's two most powerful political positions.


2015 Italian presidential election

Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...
announced his immediate retirement as President of Italy on 14 January 2015. Napolitano had been convinced to stand again as president following the political uncertainty generated by the
2013 Italian general election The 2013 Italian general election was held on 24 and 25 February 2013 to determine the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective members of the Senate of the Republic for the 17th Italian Parliament. The centre-left alliance ...
but had made it clear he would retire at some point before June 2015. During the National Assembly of the PD on 29 January, Renzi officially announced that he would endorse Sergio Mattarella, a judge on the Constitutional Court of Italy and a former Minister of Defence, as his candidate for the Italian presidential election to replace Napolitano. It had been thought, due to the high threshold a candidate requires in the first three rounds of balloting in a presidential election, that Renzi would be forced to seek a compromise candidate with Silvio Berlusconi; however, despite Berlusconi's stringent opposition to Mattarella, Renzi instructed the PD to abstain from the first three rounds of balloting in an attempt to force a fourth ballot which required a far lower threshold for victory. Despite the risk this strategy involved, centrist parties announced at the last moment that they would support Mattarella on the fourth ballot, and he subsequently won the presidential election with 665 votes out of 1,009 from senators and deputies. Renzi was able to secure his chosen candidate's election by also unexpectedly securing last-minute support from the conservative
New Centre-Right New Centre-Right ( it, Nuovo Centrodestra, NCD) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The party was launched on 15 November 2013 by a group of dissidents of The People of Freedom (PdL) who opposed the party's transformation into Forza Ita ...
, the socialist
Left Ecology Freedom Left Ecology Freedom ( it, Sinistra Ecologia Libertà, SEL) was a democratic socialist political party in Italy whose bulk was formed by former members of the Communist Refoundation Party. The party's leader was Nichi Vendola, a former President ...
, and the liberal
Civic Choice Civic Choice ( it, Scelta Civica; SC) was a centrist and liberal political party in Italy founded by Mario Monti. The party was formed in the run-up of the 2013 general election to support the outgoing Prime Minister Monti and continue his polit ...
.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum

After constitutional reforms had passed both the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
and the Senate of the Republic multiple times, Renzi announced that he would hold a
constitutional referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
on 4 December 2016 to seek approval for the changes; whilst the reform was approved by a simple parliamentary majority, it did not achieve the two-thirds necessary to avoid a referendum, as per Article 138 of the Constitution of Italy. Voters were asked whether they approved of amending the constitution to transform the Senate into a "Senate of Regions", with 100 members made up of regional councillors and mayors of large cities, akin to the
Bundesrat of Germany The German Bundesrat ( lit. Federal Council; ) is a legislative body that represents the sixteen ''Länder'' (federated states) of Germany at the federal level (German: ''Bundesebene''). The Bundesrat meets at the former Prussian House of Lords ...
. The reform would have reduced the size of the Senate from 315 to 100, making all senators indirectly elected by regional councils and mayors. The reform would have made it harder for the Senate to veto legislation. Following early results which indicated that the "No" side was clearly ahead, Renzi conceded defeat and resigned.


2018 Italian general election

The 2018 Italian general election was held on 4 March after the Italian Parliament was dissolved by President Sergio Mattarella on 28 December 2017. Renzi led a
centre-left coalition The centre-left coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-sinistra) is an political alliance, alliance of list of political parties in Italy, political parties in Italy active, under several forms and names, since 1995 when The Olive Tree (Italy), Th ...
composed by the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
(PD), the liberal
More Europe More Europe ( it, Più Europa or ''+Europa''; +E or +Eu) is a liberal and pro-Europeanist political party in Italy, part of the centre-left coalition and member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party. Its leaders are Emma B ...
of Emma Bonino, the centrist
Popular Civic List The Popular Civic List ( it, Civica Popolare, CP) was a centrist coalition of political parties in Italy. Its leader is Beatrice Lorenzin, minister of Health from 2013 to 2018 and member of Popular Alternative. History CP participated in the 2 ...
of Beatrice Lorenzin, and the progressive Together of
Giulio Santagata Giulio Santagata (born 1 October 1949) is an Italian politician, former member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and leader of Together. Biography Giulio Santagata was born in Zocca, near Modena, in 1949. He graduated in Economy and Commerce a ...
. The centre-left was affected by a political schism, when many members of PD's left-wing faction, like Bersani, D'Alema, and Speranza, left the party founding another movement, known as MDP, which run under the joint list Free and Equal led by
Pietro Grasso Pietro Grasso (; born 1 January 1945), also known as Piero Grasso, is an Italian anti-mafia magistrate and politician who served as President of the Senate from 2013 to 2018. Grasso became the Acting President of Italy on 14 January 2015, upon th ...
. In the election, the
centre-right coalition The centre-right coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-destra) is an alliance of political parties in Italy, active—under several forms and names—since 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi entered politics and formed his Forza Italia party. Despite ...
, in which
Matteo Salvini Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been List of Federal ...
's
League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...
emerged as the main political, won a
plurality Plurality may refer to: Voting * Plurality (voting), or relative majority, when a given candidate receives more votes than any other but still fewer than half of the total ** Plurality voting, system in which each voter votes for one candidate and ...
of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and in the Senate with 37.0% of votes, while the anti-establishment
Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
led by Luigi Di Maio became the party with the largest number of votes (32.7%). Renzi's centre-left coalition came only third with 22.9% of votes; however, no political group or party won an outright majority, resulting in a hung parliament.


Political views

The nature of Renzi's progressivism is a matter of debate and has been linked both to liberalism and
populism Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
. According to Maria Teresa Meli of the ''
Corriere della Sera The ''Corriere della Sera'' (; en, "Evening Courier") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average daily circulation of 410,242 copies in December 2015. First published on 5 March 1876, ''Corriere della Sera'' is one of It ...
'', Renzi "pursues a precise model, borrowed from the British Labour Party and Bill Clinton's
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
", comprising "a strange mix (for Italy) of liberal policy in the economic sphere and populism. This means that, on one side, he will attack the privileges of trade unions, especially of the
CGIL The Italian General Confederation of Labour (; CGIL) is a national trade union based in Italy. It was formed by agreement between socialists, communists, and Christian democrats in the "Pact of Rome" of June 1944. In 1950, socialists and Christi ...
, which defends only the already protected, while, on the other, he will sharply attack the vested powers, bankers, Confindustria and a certain type of capitalism." '' The Daily Telegraph'' referred to Renzi as "a prominent centrist voice in Europe". Renzi has occasionally been compared to former British prime minister Tony Blair for his political views. Renzi himself has previously cited Blair as an inspiration for him, and said to be a supporter of Blair's ideology of the Third Way, which attempts to synthesise liberal economics and left-wing social policies. In an interview with the Italian talk show '' Che tempo che fa'', Renzi stated that his meeting with Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton was the most interesting part of his trip to the United States because he considered them as models of the reformist left. Renzi endorsed the Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign in an interview where he also expressed admiration for the policies of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Renzi is in favour of the recognition of civil unions for same-sex couples and stepchild adoptions, a situation which occurs when at least one parent has children from a previous relationship that are not genetically related to the other parent. For this, Renzi was criticised by the participants of the Family Day, an
anti-LGBT Anti-LGBT rhetoric comprises themes, catchphrases, and slogans that have been used against homosexuality or other non-heterosexual sexual orientations in order to demean lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. They range from t ...
demonstration which took place three times in Italy; the Prime Minister was accused of having changed his opinion about the recognition of same-sex couples. Renzi participated in the first Family Day in 2007, while he was president of Florence province and a member of the centrist The Daisy party. Renzi was sometimes described as the ''de facto'' leader of the centre-left Party of European Socialists, in opposition to the centre-right
European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
associated with Angela Merkel; the two leaders were together often referred to as ''Merkenzi''.


Public image

According to public opinion surveys in May 2014, just after the European Parliament elections, Renzi's approval rating was 74%, the highest ever rating for an Italian politician serving as Prime Minister; the highest absolute consensus at 84% was recorded in November 2011 by
Mario Monti Mario Monti, (born 19 March 1943) is an Italian economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a technocratic government in the wake of the Italian debt crisis. Monti served as a European Commiss ...
, who presided over a technical, bipartisan government. His lowest approval in office was in June 2015, with just over 35%; upon leaving the office of Prime Minister, his approval rating further shrank to 15% by April 2020. In the 2010s, Italy underwent a wave of
populism Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
and post-modern leadership likened to Renzi's style. As a "master of telepolitics", Renzi used his own skills and accomplishments as evidence of his ability to lead, promoted the Internet as a platform for democracy, and used heavy emotional appeals along with relatable, persuasive language to advocate for his positions. In 2014, Renzi was ranked as the third most influential person in the world under 40 in the
40 Under 40 ''Fortune'' magazine's 40 Under 40 is a list of individuals the publication considers to be the most influential young leaders for the year. The list has existed in two phases: First, from 1999 to 2003, the list was presented purely as a numeric ...
list by ''
Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
'', and in the FP Top 100 Global Thinkers by ''
Foreign Policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
''. Both as Prime Minister and mayor of Florence, Renzi has been renowned as an assiduous user of social networks, especially Twitter, where he is followed by more than two million people. Renzi's use of social networks was a contributing factor to his victory in the
2013 PD leadership election The 2013 Democratic Party leadership election was an open primary election held in November–December 2013. After having come first in the vote by party members, Matteo Renzi was elected by a landslide 68% in a three-way primary on 8 December. ...
. Renzi has stated that he is a fan of the American TV series '' House of Cards''; some journalists, including the book's author
Michael Dobbs Michael John Dobbs, Baron Dobbs (born 14 November 1948) is a British Conservative politician and author, best known for his ''House of Cards'' trilogy. Early life and education Michael Dobbs was born on 14 November 1948 in Cheshunt, Hertfordsh ...
and Enrico Letta, noted similarities between the rise to power of the character Francis Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey, and the manner in which Renzi replaced Letta as Prime Minister in 2014. This comparison surfaced in the media again in June 2015, when a phone conversation from January 2014 between Renzi and a general of the Guardia di Finanza, Michele Adinolfi, was leaked to '' Il Fatto Quotidiano''. During the conversation, Renzi described Letta as "incapable" and told Adinolfi that he would replace him as Prime Minister, which would happen less than a month later. In October 2016, Renzi stated to have stopped watching the TV series after its second season. After Letta retired from politics in 2015, he came back to accept the PD leadership in March 2021, about one year and a half after Renzi left the PD and his new party was struggling at the polls. In December 2018, Renzi presented a TV series called ''Firenze secondo me'' ("Florence According to Me"), broadcast by '' Nove'' TV channel. It is a historical and artistic documentary, in which Renzi presents the city of Florence, narrating historical events and showing the most famous sites of cultural interest, like
Palazzo Vecchio The Palazzo Vecchio ( "Old Palace") is the City hall, town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria, which holds a copy of Michelangelo's ''David (Michelangelo), David'' statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent ...
, the Uffizi Gallery, the Vasari Corridor, the
Basilica of Santa Croce The (Italian for 'Basilica of the Holy Cross') is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 meters south-east of the Duomo. The ...
, Palazzo Pitti, and the Boboli Gardens. In February 2022, the Florence Prosecutors' office requested a trial of eleven suspects, among them Renzi, for alleged funding irregularities related to Renzi's Open Foundation. Alongside his consultations in Saudi Arabia, for which he received €1.1 million and was criticized due to praising Saudi Arabia's cheap labour costs and referring to it as a "New Renaissance", Renzi's public image suffered and he received criticism from Saudi dissident Sa'ad Al-Faqih.


Personal life

In 1999, Renzi married
Agnese Landini Agnese Landini (; born 11 November 1976) is an Italian teacher, wife of former Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi. Life and work Landini was born in Florence, in 1976 and has one brother, Filippo, who is a priest. During her childhood, Landin ...
, a teacher, with whom he has three children: two sons,
Francesco Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name " Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sev ...
and Emanuele, and a daughter, Ester. The Renzi family are regular Mass-goers and are active in the Association of Italian Catholic Guides and Scouts, the largest
Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...
association in Italy. In addition to his native Italian, Renzi can also speak French and some English. He is an avid football fan and supports
ACF Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...
, the team of his hometown Florence. At the
2014 Italian local elections The 2014 Italian local elections were held on 25 May, with a second round on 8 June. In Italy, direct elections were held in 4,086 municipalities: in each municipality (''comune'') were chosen mayor and members of the City Council. Of the 4,086 m ...
, his sister Benedetta was elected a municipal councillor for the PD in
Castenaso Castenaso ( Bolognese: ; la, Castrum Nasicae) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is located around away from Bologna, the capital of Emilia Romagna. Sports Associazione Sportiva Dilettantist ...
, a small town near Bologna. Renzi's father Tiziano was the city secretary of the PD for
Rignano sull'Arno Rignano sull'Arno is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence. Main sights *''Pieve'' of San Lorenzo a Miransù *''Pieve'' di San Leonino, with a terrac ...
, near Florence, until March 2017; he was previously a municipal councillor for
Christian Democracy Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
from 1985 to 1990.


Electoral history


First-past-the-post elections


Authored books

* * * * * * * * * *


See also

* Liberalism in Europe


References


Further reading

* * * *


External links

*
Official website of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers

Renzi's personal website


, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Renzi, Matteo 1975 births 21st-century Italian politicians Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy politicians Democratic Party (Italy) politicians Italian People's Party (1994) politicians Italian Roman Catholics Italia Viva politicians Living people Mayors of Florence Presidents of the Province of Florence Prime Ministers of Italy Renzi Cabinet University of Florence alumni