Renzi Might Hang On for Months Even If He Loses Italian Vote

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Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Washington on Oct. 18.

Photographer: Pete Marovich/Bloomberg
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Matteo Renzi’s time as Italian leader might not quite be up, even if he does lose a referendum on constitutional reform next month.

President Sergio Mattarella would probably ask Renzi to stay on to oversee the aftermath of the vote, according to two senior officials from the premier’s Democratic Party, or PD, who asked not to be named because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Mattarella would likely want Renzi to steer through an electoral reform at the head of a multi-party, caretaker administration in Rome before calling an early general election in the first months of 2017, they said.