Italian Voters and No-Shows Send Referendum to Ease Citizenship Rules to Crushing Defeat

Italians headed to the polls on Sunday for a referendum favored by the Italian Left that would have eased citizenship requirements and revised labor laws. However, low voter turnout sent the referendum down to defeat as not enough voters turned out to make the vote valid. Official data from YouTrend revealed only 30% of eligible voters cast their ballots, which was well below the 50% plus one needed for the five referendum questions to pass.

Polls revealed a high turnout in cities of Northern Italy, with Florence reaching 46%. Bolzano recorded the lowest turnout, with about 16% of citizens voting.

The result was a major loss for both the Italian Left and unions, which supported the referendum as a means to challenge Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her government, according to the right-leaning party Brothers of Italy on X. “They instrumentalized the war and job to attack you, trying to mobilize Italians against you. Their attempt just failed.”

Meloni opposed the proposed laws, and announced last week she would abstain from voting, explaining that “Not voting in the referendum is my right, it is everyone’s right.”

Elly Schlein, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, maintained the election was a victory for the Left, citing the over 14 million people who went to the polls. “They have carried out a real political and media boycott campaign of this vote, but they have very little to celebrate,” she told the Italian news outlet Il Messaggero, “More voters voted for these referendums than those who voted for the right, sending Meloni to government in 2022. When more people than those who voted for you ask you to change a law, you should reflect instead of mocking it.”

Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini congratulated voters on X. “This is a major defeat for a Left that has lost both ideas and credibility, unable even to mobilize its own voters. […] We leave the chatter to the Left—the League and the government respond with action, and Italians, through yesterday and today’s vote (or abstention), understood it perfectly.”

Had the referendum succeeded, 2.5 million foreign migrants already in Italy for five years or longer could have been eligible to apply for citizenship immediately. “Citizenship is not a gift,” Salvini added. “We ask for tougher and more severe rules to be Italian citizens. A few more years of residence are not enough.”

The post Italian Voters and No-Shows Send Referendum to Ease Citizenship Rules to Crushing Defeat appeared first on The Daily Signal.