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Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Low turnout thwarts Italian referendums, deals blow to opposition
Secretary of the Italian Democratic Party (PD) Elly Schlein votes during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella A person holds ballot papers during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella Five Stars Movement leader Giuseppe Conte stands at a polling station, during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella People prepare to vote during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella A person votes during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella ROME - Low voter turnout on Monday sank Italian opposition referendum proposals to ease citizenship laws and tighten job protection rules, with senior figures in the coalition of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni saying the outcome boosted the government. Near-final data from polling stations in Italy showed only around 30% of eligible voters had cast their ballots at the end of two days of voting, far short of the 50% plus one of the electorate needed to make the vote legally binding. The outcome - which will be final once votes from Italians living abroad are counted - is a blow for the coalition of centre-left opposition parties, civil society groups and the CGIL trade union behind the referendum questions, and a win for Meloni who strongly opposed them. "The opposition wanted to turn the referendum into a vote on the Meloni government. The response is very clear: the government emerges from this stronger and the left is weaker," said Giovanbattista Fazzolari, a cabinet undersecretary and a close aide to Meloni. Meloni and her right-wing allies encouraged their supporters to boycott the vote. The prime minister visited a polling station in Rome on Sunday but opted not to cast a vote. Opposition forces had hoped that latching on to the issues of labour rights and Italy's demographic woes could help them challenge Meloni, something they have struggled to do since she came to power in 2022. "Our goal was to reach a quorum, it is clear that we did not reach it. Today is not a day of victory," said CGIL union leader Maurizio Landini, who added millions of Italians went to vote and that was "a starting number" to keep fighting for change. CITIZENSHIP ISSUE PROVES DIVISIVE One of the five referendums was about reducing the period of residence required to apply for Italian citizenship by naturalisation to five years from 10 years, which according to organisers would have affected about 2.5 million people. In a country suffering a sharp decline in the birth rate, some economists believe attracting more foreigners is vital to boosting an anaemic economy, while rights groups campaigned for a "Yes" vote to promote the integration of migrant workers. According to initial figures around 35% of voters were against easing the citizenship requirements, indicating the "No" vote could be much higher than in the other questions where the "Yes" looked poised for a very strong majority. The other four referendum questions concerned a reversal of labour market liberalisations introduced a decade ago, and a broadening of liability rules on accidents at work for companies relying on contractors and subcontractors. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Italy's referendums on citizenship and labour sunk by low turnout
Secretary of the Italian Democratic Party (PD) Elly Schlein votes during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella A person holds ballot papers during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella Five Stars Movement leader Giuseppe Conte stands at a polling station, during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella People prepare to vote during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella A person votes during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella ROME - Italian referendum proposals to ease citizenship laws and tighten job protection rules failed on Monday due to low voter turnout, YouTrend polling agency said, in a setback for the centre-left opposition and unions that had championed them. Official data from about half of the polling stations showed slightly less than 30% of eligible voters had cast their ballots at the end of two days of voting, far short of the 50% plus one of the electorate needed to make the vote legally binding. The outcome is a blow for the coalition of centre-left opposition parties, civil society groups and the CGIL trade union behind the referendum questions, and a win for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni who strongly opposed them. Meloni and her right-wing allies encouraged their supporters to boycott the vote. The prime minister visited a polling station in Rome on Sunday but did not cast a vote, a tactic she had indicated that she would adopt. Opposition forces had hoped that latching on to the issues of labour rights and Italy's demographic woes could help them challenge Meloni, something they have struggled to do since she came to power in 2022. "The opposition wanted to turn the referendum into a vote on the Meloni government. The response is very clear: the government emerges from this stronger and the opposition is weaker", said Giovanbattista Fazzolari, a cabinet undersecretary and a close aide to Meloni. LOW TURNOUT One of the five referendums was about reducing the period of residence required to apply for Italian citizenship by naturalisation to five years from 10 years, which according to organisers would have affected about 2.5 million people. In a country suffering a sharp decline in the birth rate, some economists believe attracting more foreigners is vital to boosting an anaemic economy, while rights groups campaigned for a "Yes" vote to promote the integration of migrant workers. The other four referendum questions concerned a reversal of labour market liberalisations introduced a decade ago, and a broadening of liability rules on accidents at work for companies relying on contractors and subcontractors. "Whether just above 30% or just below 30%, this is a low figure, below the expectations and targets set by the promoters," YouTrend's Lorenzo Pregliasco told Italian news channel SkyTG24. According to data analysis late on Sunday by the YouTrend polling agency, turnout was higher in wealthier northern and central regions and in larger cities, and lower in the less developed south. A higher turnout was also observed in areas where leftist parties performed well in the last general elections and in the 2024 European elections, YouTrend said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Low turnout set to thwart moves to ease Italian citizenship rules
Secretary of the Italian Democratic Party (PD) Elly Schlein votes during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella A person holds ballot papers during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella Five Stars Movement leader Giuseppe Conte stands at a polling station, during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella People prepare to vote during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella A person votes during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella ROME - Voting resumed on Monday for Italy's two-day referendum on proposals to make it easier to obtain Italian citizenship and strengthen labour rights, but low turnout looked set to make the vote invalid. Data overnight showed under 23% of eligible voters had cast their ballots as polls provisionally closed on Sunday, far short of the 50% plus one of the electorate needed to make the outcome of the vote binding. Voting ends at 3 p.m. (1300 GMT). One of the five referendums is about reducing the period of residence required to apply for Italian citizenship by naturalisation to five years from 10 years. This could affect about 2.5 million foreign nationals, organisers say. With Italy's birthrate in sharp decline, economists say the country needs to attract more foreigners to boost its anaemic economy, and migrant workers feel a lot is at stake for them as they seek closer integration into Italian society. Three other referendum questions would reverse a decade-old liberalisation of the labour market, and a fourth concerns liability rules for accidents at work. Opposition leftist and centrist parties, civil society groups and a leading trade union have latched on to the issues of labour rights and Italy's demographic woes as a way of challenging Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing coalition government that took power almost three years ago. Meloni and her allies encouraged their supporters to boycott the vote. The prime minister attended a polling station in Rome on Sunday but her staff confirmed that she did not collect ballot papers and did not cast a vote, a tactic she had indicated that she would adopt. A low turnout and a failed referendum could lead to further infighting among centre-left opposition groups which have struggled to find a way to dent Meloni's popularity since she came to power. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
