After Brexit, Another European Referendum Looms -- Italian Prime Minister

                -- If it fails, I'll resign

As Europe reels from the effects of the United Kingdom's Brexit vote, there's fresh anxiety about another referendum coming up in a major EU country.

It won't be a vote on whether to remain or leave the European Union, but on Italy's constitutional reform package. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi says the reforms — which would simplify and accelerate the passage of laws — are long overdue and will finally bring an end to decades of his country's notorious revolving-door governments.

But Italian analysts say the October vote could turn into a referendum on the Italian government itself — and could prove as much of a boomerang for Renzi, who has been prime minister for 2 1/2 years, as the U.K. referendum has been for David Cameron.

Complicating matters further are Italy's banking problems. Italy's banks are burdened by $40 billion in bad loans, one-third the Eurozone total. These problems pre-date the arrival of Renzi's center-left government, but they have become a politically explosive issue after thousands of small depositors were wiped out at four regional banks over the last year and several savers who lost all their money committed suicide.

Many analysts warn that with its shaky banking system, lackluster growth, high unemployment and a growing wave of anti-establishment public sentiment, Italy is on the brink of a major crisis. The trigger could be Renzi's constitutional reforms referendum.

Current opinion polls show a small lead for a "yes" vote approving the reforms, but polls have shown themselves to be unreliable in several recent European ballots. Renzi has repeatedly said that if the referendum fails, he will step down, raising the prospect of early elections in 2017.

 -- npr.org