The resignation of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi after the failed referendum on constitutional reform marks the beginning of a period of instability in Italian politics, and the country's president, Sergio Mattarella, is on the move.
According to Agence France-Presse, there are three possible scenarios for the further development of the situation.
According to the first, after the last meeting of his cabinet today, Renci will visit Mattarella, who could ask him to form a new government. In theory, parliament could vote Renzi's confidence either with the current majority or with a new one, including Silvio Berlusconi's Italy Forward party.
However, at the press conference last night after the referendum results were announced, one got the impression that Renzi ruled out that possibility.
"My ruling experience ends here," he said, addressing the public after the publication of the preliminary unofficial results of the referendum, according to which between 57 and 61 percent of voters voted "against" constitutional reforms, while "for" was between 39 and 43 percent.
Such a convincing result makes the return of Renci unlikely, according to AFP.
Another option would be the appointment of a technocratic government, which, according to AFP, is the most likely scenario. This means that Matarella would appoint the prime minister with the support of the current or new expanded majority.
Among the names circulating are Finance Minister Pierre Carlo Padoan and Senate President Pietro Grasso.
The transitional government would be tasked with adopting the 2017 budget and submitting it to parliament for a vote, as well as modifying the new electoral law before the next election.
The interim prime minister could also decide to continue working until the end of the current parliament's term in February 2018, a very unpopular move especially among political movements such as "Five Star" who want early elections.
The third option would refer to the immediate dissolution of parliament, which, according to AFP, is unlikely.
The recent electoral reform aimed to ensure that the leading party has a parliamentary majority in the Chamber of Deputies, while the failure of the Senate's constitutional reform means that its members are still elected by a proportional system, leaving the two chambers irreconcilable and a parliamentary majority almost impossible.
The populist movement "Five Stars" of the founder and leader Bepa Grill asked for the elections to be held in "a week" believing that the electoral law could be amended in the Senate if necessary to make it more compatible with that of the Chamber of Deputies.
However, most of the other political parties that have a majority in the parliament do not agree with this precisely to avoid the victory of the political party. Instead, they are advocating reform of the electoral law.
Ultimately, it will be President Mattarella who will decide Italy's immediate future and secure a majority to form a technocratic government if he is to avoid, as many analysts believe, early elections next year.
On the other side of the world, after the defeat in the referendum and the announced resignation of Reci, the Tokyo Stock Exchange opened today with shares falling.
On the front pages of the Italian media today, they unanimously pointed out that no one expected such an overwhelming victory for the "no" option in the referendum.
"Corriere della Sera" thus writes that the wave of the "no" option won, "Republika states that it is a triumph of the no option, while "Fato quotidiano" points out that "the Constitution defeated Rencio 59 to 41".
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