http://dx.doi.org/10.17176/20160727-130517 https://staging.verfassungsblog.de/italy-constitution-referendum-renzi-blokker/ “Vote Yes for a Safe Italy” or “Vote No to Defend the Constitution”: Italian Constitutional Politics between Majoritarianism and Civil Resistance Blokker, Paul eng 2016-07-27 electronic resource text/html ddc:342 Constitutional referendum Election law federalism Maria Elena Boschi Matteo Renzi popular constitution making Verfassungsblog Verfassungsblog--2366-7044 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 In the run-up to the constitutional referendum in October, the Italian government meets considerable resistance towards its plans for a comprehensive reform of the Constitution of 1948. Both Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Constitutional Reform Minister Maria Elena Boschi regularly sustain that in case of a ‘No’ vote, chaos will rule. Public debate seems trapped in a Manichean game between yes-proponents that accuse the opposition of conservatism, and no-proponents that accuse the government of authoritarian leanings.