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101-487: Matteo Renzi OMRI ( pronounced [matˈtɛːo ˈrɛntsi] ; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having been the secretary of the Democratic Party (PD) from 2013 to 2018, with a brief interruption in 2017. After serving as

202-676: A centrist and as a liberal by political observers. 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 (DC) municipal councillor in Rignano sull'Arno . Renzi grew up in an observant Catholic family in Rignano sull'Arno. He studied in Florence at the classical lyceum ( liceo classico ) Dante Alighieri , where he passed his final exam with

303-640: A division of powers to avoid one-party hegemony. The Action Party , the DC, the Italian Republican Party , and part of the 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

404-738: A bestseller in which he used advanced academic theories to shed light on Mike Bongiorno and his way of communicating. Eco held that Bongiorno was so good at portraying himself as no better than average in every respect that 100% of his audience could feel good about themselves. Beginning in 1963, he hosted the first of eleven editions of the Sanremo Music Festival . Then he hosted the quiz programs Caccia al numero ('Number Hunt', 1962), La Fiera dei Sogni ('Dream Fair', 1962–1965) and Giochi in Famiglia ('Games in Family', 1966–1969). But

505-614: 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 party, many conservative and Catholic members of parliament from both parties, including one of its coalition partners, the New Centre-Right (NCD), criticised

606-605: A ceremony at the Italian National Olympic Committee on 1 December 2014, Renzi officially launched the candidacy of Rome for the 2024 Summer Olympics . Renzi stated: "Our country too often seems hesitant. It's unacceptable not to try or to renounce playing the game. Sport in Italy 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

707-556: 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 . 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 ". On 4 May, the Chamber of Deputies approved Renzi's flagship electoral changes with 334 votes for and 61 votes against,

808-628: 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

909-587: 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 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 . Upon becoming prime minister, Renzi said that labour market reform, which

1010-557: A magnitude 6.2 earthquake in August, struck about 30 km (20 mi) 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 6 km (4 mi) north of Norcia at 07:40 local time (06:40 UTC) on 30 October. This quake

1111-599: 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 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 (a localised version of the United States game show Wheel of Fortune ) hosted by Mike Bongiorno , winning Lit. 48 million. Renzi's interest in politics began in high school. He

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1212-516: A minority of the PD, Renzi gained the support of Berlusconi, who was still the leader of Forza Italia (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 is located, where the two leaders met for the first time to discuss

1313-526: 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. On 17 January 2014, while on air at Le invasioni barbariche on La7 TV channel, interviewed about

1414-518: 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 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

1515-585: 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,

1616-427: 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 . 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

1717-538: A remake of Lascia o raddoppia? in 1979. Bongiorno moved to Tele Milano (now Canale 5 ), one of the first Italian commercial TV channels owned by Mediaset , the media company founded by Silvio Berlusconi , to host I sogni nel cassetto ('The dreams in the drawer', 1979–1980). After a brief return to RAI with the news-game Flash (1980–1982), he continued working for Mediaset quiz programmes Bis ( Concentration ) (1981–1990), Superflash (1982–1985), Pentathlon (1985–1987), Telemike (1987–1992), Tris (1990–1991),

1818-631: 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 a synonym of privilege and prospering in the Fascist regime's shadows, while the Christian Democracy (DC) party advocated bicameralism through

1919-502: 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

2020-606: The 2014 European Parliament election . 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

2121-461: The Chamber of Deputies 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 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

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2222-459: The Chamber of Deputies . 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 due to

2323-470: The Democratic Centre . His candidacy was criticised by some prominent PD members and to the party's left, among them Rosy Bindi , Massimo D'Alema , Stefano Fassina , and Vendola. After the first round of the 2012 Italian centre-left primary election , 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

2424-546: The Italian electoral law , 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 , Renzi formally resigned as prime minister on 12 December; his Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni

2525-584: The President of the Italian Republic , as head of the orders of knighthood, on the recommendation of the President of the Council of Ministers . Except in exceptional circumstances, no one can be awarded for the first time a rank higher than Knight. The minimum age requirement is normally 35. The Knight Grand Cross with Collar is awarded only to heads of state . Mike Bongiorno Bongiorno

2626-407: 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 , Terna , 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

2727-487: 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

2828-550: 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 . 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

2929-409: 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

3030-879: The Crown of Italy (1868), the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (1572) and the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation (1362). Investiture takes place twice a year – on 2 June, the anniversary of the foundation of the Republic , and on 27 December, the anniversary of the promulgation of the Italian Constitution . However, those awards on Presidential motu proprio , related to termination of service or granted to foreigners, may be made at any time. The badge, modified in 2001, bears

3131-645: 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

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3232-475: 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." Upon becoming prime minister, Renzi stated that one of his most important tasks was to achieve constitutional reforms; by April 2014, Renzi's government presented

3333-662: The Italian labour market called the Jobs Act. A reduction in the tax burden of about € 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,

3434-405: 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 , after his suggestion that Italian politicians of

3535-434: 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 (M5S) and Lega Nord (Lega) oppositions, some of whom threw coins and papers. German chancellor Angela Merkel , who

3636-502: 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 to attract investors, while its critics responded that it diminished workers' rights without generating new jobs. The court rejected

3737-495: 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

3838-651: The PD, the New Centre-Right , the Union of the Centre , and the Civic Choice (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

3939-468: The Republic, it is awarded for "merit acquired by the nation" in the fields of literature, the arts, economy, public service, and social, philanthropic and humanitarian activities and for long and conspicuous service in civilian and military careers. The post-nominal letters for the order are OMRI . The order effectively replaced national orders such as the Civil Order of Savoy (1831), the Order of

4040-490: The TV channel RAI . From 1955 to 1959, he hosted the quiz show Lascia o raddoppia? , the Italian version of U.S.'s The $ 64,000 Question . Another program was Campanile Sera ('Bell Tower Evening', 1959–1962), in which southern and northern Italian towns challenged each other with questions, and practical games played by citizens in the same towns. In 1963, Umberto Eco wrote an essay entitled Phenomenology of Mike Bongiorno ,

4141-804: The autumn of 2009. On September 8, 2009, at the age of 85, Bongiorno died of a heart attack , while leaving the Hotel Metropole, Monte Carlo , after a short holiday with his wife Daniela Zuccoli. His body lay in repose for a few days at the Triennale in Milan before a state funeral was held in the Milan Cathedral on September 12, 2009. Many Italian TV stars such as Rosario Fiorello , Pippo Baudo , Fabio Fazio , Sandra Mondaini , Alba Parietti , Paola Barale , Carlo Conti , Gerry Scotti , Marco Columbro and several other entertainers attended

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4242-474: 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

4343-603: The borders of the Umbria , Lazio , Abruzzo , and Marche regions. The earthquake killed 298 people and left more than 4,500 homeless. On 1 September, Renzi appointed Vasco Errani , the former president of Emilia-Romagna who had been already a Special Commissioner during the 2012 Emilia earthquake , as Special Commissioner for Reconstruction. A magnitude 6.1 intraplate earthquake struck 3 km (2 mi) west of Visso on 26 October at 21:18 local time (19:18  UTC ). The earthquake, which occurred two months after

4444-453: 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

4545-548: The city to fall into further debt. 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

4646-412: 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 at Leopolda Station in Florence to discuss Italian politics , after stating that a complete change

4747-589: 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 embedded in de jure parliamentary institutions", and an increase in

4848-543: 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. In March 2014, the Renzi Cabinet approved the auctioning of a large number of luxury cars that were used to transport heads of state, including nine Maseratis , two Jaguar Cars , and various other cars such as BMWs and Alfa Romeos . Out of

4949-406: 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 . 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

5050-410: The earthquake and migrants emergencies, was seen as an increasing anti-Brussels rhetoric, having warned of disaster if it was rejected. In an interview with 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

5151-423: 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

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5252-418: The end of the war due to an exchange of war prisoners between the United States and Germany. He returned to New York and in 1946 started work at the radio headquarters of Il Progresso Italo-Americano ("The Italian American Progress") newspaper. Bongiorno returned to Italy in 1953. He appeared on the first day of official public TV transmissions in Italy with Arrivi e partenze ('Arrivals and Departures') on

5353-476: 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. At 03:36 CEST 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

5454-403: 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 labelled it as an "electoral baksheesh" for

5555-539: 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 and Maurizio Landini . Moreover,

5656-565: 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 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,

5757-425: The greatest success came with the quiz program Rischiatutto (1970–1974), an adapted Italian version of Jeopardy! , with 20 to 30 million watchers every Thursday night, the highest audience in the history of Italian TV. Other programs hosted by Bongiorno were the news talk show Ieri e Oggi ('Yesterday and Today', 1976) and the quiz programs Scommettiamo? ( Wanna Bet? , 1976–1978), inspired by horse-racing, and

5858-490: The increase in the number of migrants prompting criticism of Renzi by the anti-immigration Lega Nord , the Five Star Movement , and Silvio Berlusconi 's Forza Italia 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

5959-484: The inscription Al Merito della Repubblica encircling the national coat of arms on the obverse and the Latin Patriæ Unitati (for the union of the country) and Civium Libertati (for the liberty of the citizens) encircling the head of Italia turrita on the reverse. The six degrees with corresponding ribbons are as follows (with numbers to 2 June 2020): The order is bestowed by decree of

6060-444: 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 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

6161-664: 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

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6262-513: The last crown prince of the former Kingdom of Italy , and Head of the House of Savoy . On May 26, 2004, on occasion of his 80th birthday, Bongiorno was appointed a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by the then Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi . In the autumn of 2007, Bongiorno received an honorary degree in Television, Film and Multimedia production from

6363-614: 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 ( 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

6464-489: The left wing of the Democratic Party (PD), by then led by Renzi's rival and former PD secretary Pier Luigi Bersani , 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

6565-590: The left-wing faction of the PD, including Gianni Cuperlo , Stefano Fassina , and Giuseppe Civati , 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 . On 25 November, the Chamber of Deputies approved the Jobs Act with 316 votes; the M5S, Lega, and almost forty members of

6666-573: The math game Tutti per uno ( Family Feud , 1992) and from 1989 to 2003 La ruota della fortuna ( Wheel of Fortune ). From 1991 to 2001, Bongiorno hosted Bravo, Bravissimo , a festival featuring preteen musicians, dancers and singers from all over the world. He won 24 Telegatto , the Italian TV prize. Until 2005, he hosted Genius on Rete 4 , an afternoon quiz show aimed at 12- to 14-year-olds. In 2006 and 2007 he hosted his last quiz show Il Migliore ( Britain's Brainiest Kid ) on Rete 4. He

6767-446: The most beautiful things we can do for our kids, for us, for Italy." On 21 September 2016, the mayor of Rome Virginia Raggi , a member of the Five Star Movement , 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

6868-565: 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

6969-558: The newly-elected Prime Minister Enrico Letta . The other two candidates for party secretary were Gianni Cuperlo , a member of the Chamber of Deputies and former secretary of the Italian Communist Youth Federation , and Giuseppe Civati , a left-wing -oriented deputy from Lombardy and a former supporter of Renzi. In the 2013 PD leadership election , Renzi was elected with 68% of the popular vote, compared to 18% for Cuperlo and 14% for Civati. He became

7070-423: 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

7171-641: 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 . On 17 February, in his last act as the mayor of Florence, Renzi appointed Dario Nardella 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 did not intend to put him "on trial". Without directly proposing himself as

7272-491: The powers of the Prime Minister, plus a new electoral law, Renzi was accused by constitutionalists and politicians, among them Stefano Rodotà and Fausto Bertinotti , of being an authoritarian and anti-democratic leader. Critics like the centre-left populist Five Star Movement (M5S) and its founder Beppe Grillo 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

7373-541: The president of the province of Florence from 2004 to 2009 and the mayor of Florence from 2009 to 2014, Renzi was elected secretary of the PD 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 implemented numerous reforms, including changes to

7474-570: The problem of migrant deaths. In a speech addressing immigration, Renzi condemned human trafficking 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 said: "A choice must be made between Dublin and Schengen . Both agreements cannot hold today." On 10 June 2015,

7575-594: 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 CISL , and FIOM , while the UIL was more positive and Confindustria supported it. In February 2015, with

7676-456: The province's employees and managers. After five years as the president of Florence province, Renzi announced that he would seek election as the mayor of Florence . On 9 June 2009, Renzi, by now a member of the Democratic Party (PD), won the election on a second round vote with 60% of the votes, compared to 40% for his opponent Giovanni Galli . As the mayor, he halved the number of city councillors, installed 500 free WiFi access points across

7777-406: The reform had more in common with that of Lega Nord 's Francesco Speroni in 1994. In April 2014, Renzi proposed that Italy adopt what he called Italicum , 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

7878-517: The reform with 361 votes, while the opposition abandoned the house. On 4 December, the reform was rejected in the 2016 Italian constitutional referendum and Renzi resigned as a result. 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 to Italy. 2014 saw an increase in the number of migrants rescued at sea being brought to southern Italian ports, with

7979-420: 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 . Renzi was criticised by many within

8080-436: 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

8181-483: 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 were ferried over from Libya. Most of the migrants had come from Syria , Eritrea , 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

8282-586: The resignation of Pier Luigi Bersani 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

8383-419: 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 other four candidates for that position were Pier Luigi Bersani , the PD secretary, Nichi Vendola , leader of Left Ecology Freedom , Laura Puppato , a PD deputy from Veneto and Bruno Tabacci , leader of

8484-444: The service which was held by Bishop Erminio De Scalzi. Bongiorno was buried in the family tomb, at Dagnente Cemetery, near Arona, Piedmont . On January 25, 2011, the tomb was ransacked and his body, along with the coffin, was stolen. On December 8, 2011, Bongiorno's body was recovered from a field near Milan. In 1996, Bongiorno was made a Commander of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus by Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples ,

8585-501: The so-called " perfect bicameralism ", which gave identical powers to the Chamber of Deputies 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 instituted a committee for reform to avoid the repeat of inconclusive legislative elections , as it had happened two months earlier. Under

8686-597: 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 ,

8787-423: 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

8888-475: 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 , Renzi caused a minor controversy by openly criticising the candidacies of both Franco Marini and Anna Finocchiaro , two long-standing PD members. Following

8989-645: 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 , held an emergency meeting with ministers and spoke by telephone to French president François Hollande , Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat , and Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras . The call led to an emergency meeting of European interior ministers to address

9090-420: The youngest prime minister in the history of Italy . 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

9191-563: 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. 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 increasing teachers for disabled children. During

9292-547: Was also a guest on the second episode of the Gianfranco Funari 's show Apocalypse Show on Rai 1 . On December 13, 2007, Bongiorno was awarded an honorary degree Honoris Causa by IULM University of Milan . On March 26, 2009, Bongiorno signed for Sky Italia after Mediaset decided not to renew his contract, where he planned to host a new game show on Sky Uno called RiSKYtutto (a modern edition of his popular show Rischiatutto ), which had been scheduled to air in

9393-627: Was also necessary in his party. Other prominent PD members who aligned themselves with Renzi's programme were Matteo Richetti , president of the Regional Council of Emilia-Romagna , Davide Faraone, a regional councillor from the Sicilian Regional Assembly , and Giuseppe Civati , a prominent member of the PD in Lombardy and a member of the Regional Council of Lombardy . Following this public meeting in August 2010,

9494-653: Was appointed his replacement. He resigned as secretary of the PD following defeat in the 2018 Italian general election . In September 2019, he left the PD and founded the Italia Viva party. In January 2021, Renzi revoked his party's support to the Conte II Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte , which brought down the government and resulted in the 2021 Italian government crisis . In February 2021, Renzi's IV supported Prime Minister Mario Draghi 's national unity government . Renzi has been described as

9595-600: Was born in New York City to parents of Italian descent. He moved to Turin (his mother's native city), when he was young. His father was a Sicilian-American lawyer. During World War II , he abandoned his studies and joined a group of Italian partisans . He was captured and spent seven months in the San Vittore Prison in Milan and was then deported to a German concentration camp. He was liberated before

9696-426: 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 ; that same year, Renzi joined the centrist Italian People's Party (PPI), and became its provincial secretary in 1999. He also married Agnese Landini , with whom he later had three children. In 2001, Renzi joined Francesco Rutelli 's Daisy party, composed by members of

9797-446: 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

9898-513: Was supported by a number of his former political opponents, such as former party secretaries Walter Veltroni and Dario Franceschini , deputy Marina Sereni , member of the European Parliament David Sassoli , and Turin mayor Piero Fassino . Other supporters of his included deputies like Gianni Pietro Dal Moro, Francesco Sanna, Francesco Boccia , Lorenzo Basso, and Enrico Borghi, all of whom were considered close to

9999-537: Was the largest in Italy in 36 years, since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake . The three earthquakes caused almost 100,000 homeless. Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( Italian : Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana ) is the most senior Italian order of merit . It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic , Luigi Einaudi . The highest-ranking honour of

10100-584: Was thought to be "long overdue", and was opposed by major trade unions and organised labour , to introduce labour market flexibility , would be at the top of his agenda to improve the state of the Italian economy . 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

10201-478: 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

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