Italy’s off shore oil referendum: another lost opportunity

On 17 April, a referendum was held in Italy on rules governing off shore drilling licenses. As Biagio Carrano and Irene Monasterolo write, this relatively niche issue nevertheless produced a full-blown political contest, involving heavy infighting inside the government coalition. They argue that these events illustrate the Italian government is still more concerned with protecting the interests of powerful industrial lobbies than it is with stimulating the economy and employment through investments in renewable energy.