‘Renzi’s triumph: now it’s our turn’

On December 8, 38-year-old Matteo Renzi was elected secretary general of Italy’s most powerful political organisation, the Democratic Party, with a resounding 67.8 per cent of the vote during primary elections, reports Corriere della Sera.

The mayor of Florence, who ran as a challenger to the political elite, beat party insiders Gianni Cuperlo, who scooped 18 per cent of the vote, and Pippo Civati, who took 14.3 per cent, in the poll of around 2.5 million people.

However, despite his reform message, notes Constitutional Court ruling rejecting core tenets of the existing electoral law means Renzi should not lead the party in a campaign for an early poll and must

resist the temptation of getting into opposition, pushing for an early election that would turn out to be useless in terms of governing.