"We're betting the past 20 years on the next 20 days," Mr. Renzi said.
"The polls say 'No' votes are ahead, which is perfect given the bad luck they bring."
The young reformist premier added that voters from the right wing, anti-immigrant Northern League and the populist, euroskeptic 5-Star Movement (M5S) are supposed to vote 'No', but are more likely to vote 'Yes'.
"I imagine a League or M5S voter entering the polling booth," he said.
"If they want to vote 'No' they'll have to shut their eyes, because if they read the question they will vote 'Yes'."
On December 4, Italians will be called to answer 'Yes' or 'No' on a question that reads: "Do you approve a constitutional law concerning the scrapping of the bicameral system (of parliament), reducing the number of MPs, containing the operating costs of public institutions, abolishing the National Council on Economy and Labour (CNEL), and amending Title V of the Constitution Part II?"
Mr. Renzi's reform - which has already been approved by parliament - would complete the elimination of Italy's 110 provinces on the premise that they are redundant and expensive.
It would also reduce the Senate by two thirds (from 300 to 100), and do away with the equal powers between the Upper and Lower Houses of parliament - an unusual system that has been blamed for decades of political gridlock.
The premier has been campaigning for a 'Yes' vote on the premise that the reform will slash privileges and slim down bloated government structures. Voting 'No', he says, will simply preserve the status quo of decades.
With ANSA
