Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s drive to reform one of Europe’s most sluggish economies is being threatened by a sharp drop in voter support amid repeated corruption scandals and an immigration crisis, political reports showed yesterday.

Renzi’s personal popularity has dropped 33 percentage points over the past year, according to pollster Demos, despite a tentative return to growth after three years of recession.

The fast-talking 40-year-old toppled his predecessor in a party coup 16 months ago, promising to put a new face on tired, corrupt Italian politics and shake up inefficient institutions.

Renzi’s popularity surged and he was widely expected to dominate Italian politics for years to come. But after weaker-than-expected showings for his candidates in recent regional and municipal votes, internal opponents in his Democratic Party (PD) are becoming emboldened and the Opposition is gaining ground.

Opinions differ on the significance of Renzi’s reforms so far which have focused on the labour market and voting rules

Opinions differ on the significance of Renzi’s reforms so far, which have focused on the labour market and voting rules.

But with his approval ratings plunging and his parliamentary majority increasingly shaky, he is likely to find it harder to take on fierce opposition to his plans to overhaul the education system and a sclerotic public administration.

Demos said the PD, still Italy’s largest party, now has 32 per cent of voter support. A year ago, it won 41 per cent in European parliament elections.

“We lost a few too many run-offs,” Renzi said in a rare admission of defeat following last week’s mayoral votes.

The PD lost second-round run-offs in five cities including Venice and the old left-wing stronghold of Arezzo in Tuscany – Renzi’s home region – to right-wing candidates.

In all five cities its candidates led in the first round but were overtaken by voters uniting against them – a concern for Renzi who recently pushed through a similar two-round system for national elections.

The seeds of trouble for Renzi were sown gradually. The discovery last December of a vast system of corruption involving the PD-administered Rome government, on the heels of corruption scandals around Milan’s Expo 2015 World Fair and Venice’s flood barrier, continues to reverberate.

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