Italian center-left Prime Minister Renzi said he will retire after he learned the outcome of the referendum.

"Tomorrow the President of Armenia will meet with me, and I will resign," said Renzi. "I take full responsibility for the defeat, so I leave," he told supporters. The defeat of the referendum was a loud, almost 60% of voters said "no". The turnout was almost 70%.

This is a victory for the eurosceptic, populist and nationalist parties in Italy, which were largely against Renzi and his promises to stimulate the sluggish economy of Italy.

"When you lose something you can't pretend that nothing happened and go to bed. My government ends here today," said Renzi.

Formally, the vote was a referendum on whether the country should amend the Constitution of 1948. Renzi intentions were, he wanted to reduce the power of the upper house of the Italian Parliament by reducing its size from 315 to 100. Supporters of the referendum said that the idea was to make the Senate less complex and reforms would contribute to the revival of the sluggish economy of the country.

There are fears that the results of the vote could further shake the financial stability of the country, taking into account that banks are already in debt. Investors, fearing political turmoil, may require a much higher percentage for giving money to some banks that need it.
sections: Politics, World News, Accidents