Low turnout sinks Italian citizenship, labor referendums, strengthens Meloni’s government

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 result is seen as a major victory for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who vehemently opposed the measures.

Meloni arrived at a Rome polling station on Sunday — when turnout was 22% — to declare that she would not cast a vote.

Meloni then once-again encouraged her supporters to likewise boycott the ballot.

What were Italy’s referendums about?

Four of the referendums centered on workplace protections including better protections against firing, increased severance pay, unemployment benefits, the end of fixed-term contracts and better workplace accident compensation.

A fifth referendum addressed whether voters wanted to ease citizenship laws in the country, allowing non-EU immigrants to apply for Italian passports after five rather than the current 10 years.

At the moment, the rule would apply to roughly 2.5 million non-EU immigrants.

Arguments for easing citizenship requirements were driven by the demographic fact of Italy’s dwindling birth rates and calls for better integrating foreign workers in an effort to boost the country’s economy.

Data compiled by the polling organization YouTrend said voter turnout was higher in the country’s industrialized north than the agricultural south, as well in cities and in areas where left-leaning parties preformed best in Italy’s most recent general and EU elections.

“The opposition wanted to turn this into a referendum on the Meloni government,” said Cabinet undersecretary and Meloni ally Giovanbattista Fazzolari. “The response is very clear: The government emerges from this stronger and the opposition weaker.”

Speaking of the vote’s failure, YouTrend’s Lorenzo Pregliasco said, “Whether just above 30% or just below, this is a low figure… below the expectations and targets set by the promoters.”