Italy’s constitutional referendum: the right solution to long-standing problems?

On 20-21 September, Italy will go to the polls for a referendum on reducing the size of both chambers of the Italian Parliament. Matteo Garavoglia previews the referendum, which opinion polls suggest is likely to result in a strong vote in favour of the proposal. He argues that while the appeal of reducing the number of politicians is understandable, there has been relatively little attention paid to the question of whether or not the reform will actually enhance or diminish the quality of Italian democracy.