Italy’s citizenship referendum fails after voters heed Giorgia Meloni call for boycott
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Inside Italy: How Meloni’s government is boycotting the citizenship referendum
With just over three weeks to go until Italy holds a landmark referendum on easing citizenship rules, discussions over the upcoming vote are heating up in Italian media. The citizenship vote will need a voter turnout of over 50 percent for its result to be valid. If this threshold (or quorum) is not met, the referendum won’t be valid, whatever its result may be. Several members of PM Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition, which strongly opposes the citizenship reform, have called on supporters to abstain from voting in recent weeks. The ruling coalition’s calls to boycott the vote have sparked outrage among the opposition’s ranks, with many accusing the government of undermining citizen participation in public life and deepening political apathy. Some have argued that Meloni’s administration may be “afraid” of losing the head-to-head contest with the broad centre-left coalition backing the reform. I suspect that the ruling coalition may be trying to prevent tens of thousands of citizens from forming well-informed opinions about Italy’s citizenship laws.
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Inside Italy is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip from Italy that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
With just over three weeks to go until Italy holds a landmark referendum on easing citizenship rules, discussions over the upcoming vote are heating up in Italian media.
One question several political commentators have tried to answer this week is whether the citizenship reform, which proposes to cut the current residency requirement for naturalisation claims from 10 years down to five, stands any chance of passing.
As with all referendums in Italy, the citizenship vote will need a voter turnout of over 50 percent for its result to be valid. If this threshold (or quorum) is not met, the referendum won’t be valid, whatever its result may be.
So far, most reports have said that it’s unlikely that the citizenship referendum will reach the quorum, noting that voter turnout in referendums has historically been low in Italy.
According to La Pagella Politica, Italians have been called to vote in 29 referendums since 1995, with only four reaching the quorum.
Low voter turnout in recent votes has often been attributed to growing political “disengagement”, as an increasing number of citizens choose to refrain from participating in public life.
But if the upcoming referendum were to fall short of the quorum, shattering hopes of a quicker path to citizenship for around 2.5 million people, it would be hard to pin the outcome on political disaffection alone.
Several members of PM Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition, which strongly opposes the citizenship reform, have called on supporters to abstain from voting in recent weeks.
Igor Iezzi, an MP from Matteo Salvini’s anti-immigration League, said earlier this month that his party’s official stance was “abstention”.
“Our goal is to prevent the quorum from being reached,” he added.
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Senate speaker Ignazio La Russa, from PM Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, went even further last week, saying he would “campaign to ensure that people stay home”.
La Russa’s announcement came amid reports that Brothers of Italy management had sent a memo to party members urging them to promote abstention from the referendum.
The ruling coalition’s calls to boycott the vote have sparked outrage among the opposition’s ranks, with many accusing the government of undermining citizen participation in public life and deepening political apathy.
Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, said the government’s calls to boycott the vote were a “betrayal of the constitutional principles that establish voting as a civic duty”.
Similarly, Riccardo Magi, leader of the centre-left +Europa party, said that voting “is the foundation of democracy” and “in a normal country, government institutions should do everything to encourage voting”.
So far, the government has responded to critics by saying that encouraging abstention is legitimate under Italian law and that previous left-wing administrations also called on voters to abstain from voting in referendums.
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While both points are factually accurate, they leave one fundamental question unanswered: why is the government encouraging its supporters to boycott the referendum?
Some have argued that Meloni’s administration may be “afraid” of losing the head-to-head contest with the broad centre-left coalition backing the citizenship reform.
I see this as unlikely as the government currently enjoys the support of over 45 percent of voters and would have the numbers to overcome the pro-reform bloc.
I believe that, rather than acting out of fear of an electoral face-off with the centre-left coalition, Meloni’s government may be trying to smother any semblance of public debate on citizenship.
Calls to change Italy’s naturalisation laws, which are among the toughest in Europe, are nothing new, but public discussions on the topic have struggled to gain momentum outside of campaign groups, largely because of deliberate sabotage by the government.
I suspect that the ruling coalition may once again be trying to prevent tens of thousands of citizens from forming well-informed opinions about Italy’s citizenship laws – and from realising why they need to change.
Inside Italy is our weekly look at some of the news and talking points in Italy that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
Italy holds referendum on citizenship, workers’ rights
referendum seeks to ease citizenship rules, with non-EU adult residents able to apply for citizenship after living in Italy for five years if approved. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government opposed to both and urging people to abstain. Five proposals on the ballot were not expected to pass, in light of low turnout and the requirement that over 50 percent of voters participate to validate the referendum. Around 2.5 million people could benefit from the reform, which is being backed by the centre-left Democratic Party and centre-right Brothers of Italy party. If it passed, the reform would not affect a migration law many consider unfair: that children born in Italy to foreign parents cannot request nationality until they reach 18. The reform would double the number of people acquired Italian citizenship in 2023, accounting for one-fifth of the total number of naturalisations in EU countries, according to the bloc’s statistics. More than 90 percent were from outside the bloc, mostly from Albania and Morocco.
Italians began two days of voting Sunday in a referendum on easing citizenship rules and strengthening labour laws, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government opposed to both and urging people to abstain.
The five proposals on the ballot were not expected to pass, in light of low turnout and the requirement that over 50 percent of voters participate to validate the referendum.
Currently, a non-EU adult resident without marriage or blood ties to Italy must live in the country for 10 years before they can apply for citizenship — a process which can then take years more.
The referendum proposal, triggered by a grassroots campaign led by NGOs, would cut this to five years, putting Italy in line with Germany and France.
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Campaigners say around 2.5 million people could benefit from the reform, which is being backed by the centre-left Democratic Party.
Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party has prioritised cutting irregular immigration even as her government has increased the number of migrant work visas, is strongly against it.
She said on Thursday that the current system “is an excellent law, among the most open, in the sense that we have for years been among the European nations that grant the highest number of citizenships each year”.
– Low initial turnout –
More than 213,500 people acquired Italian citizenship in 2023, double the number from 2020 and accounting for one-fifth of the total number of naturalisations in EU countries, according to the bloc’s statistics.
More than 90 percent were from outside the bloc, mostly from Albania and Morocco, as well as Argentina and Brazil — two countries with large Italian immigrant communities.
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Ministers agreed in March to restrict the rights to citizenship of those claiming blood ties to Italy from four to two generations.
Meloni and her coalition partners encouraged voters to boycott the referendum, which would invalidate it if it fails to clear the 50-percent-of-eligible-voters turnout.
As of 7:00 pm (1700 GMT) Sunday, national participation was at 15.8 percent, according to the interior ministry. Voting was to continue through to Monday afternoon.
Casting a ballot for the first time in his life at a Rome polling station was Giovanni Puccini, 18, who called Meloni’s instruction to abstain “disrespectful” of past sacrifices by Italians.
“You have to vote because in the past so many people fought, even died, for this right,” he said.
His friend Pierre Donadio, 21, said less stringent citizenship laws were needed in the country, to boost diversity and prevent it “being too closed up in itself”.
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Even if it passed, the reform would not affect a migration law many consider unfair: that children born in Italy to foreign parents cannot request nationality until they reach 18.
Prominent rapper Ghali, who was born in Milan to Tunisian parents, has been outspoken in advocating a change to the law for children. He urged fans to back Sunday’s vote as a step in the right direction.
“With a ‘Yes’ we ask that five years of life here are enough, not 10, to be part of this country,” he wrote on Instagram.
– Interests of workers –
The ballot includes one question on citizenship. The four others are on increasing protections for workers who are dismissed, in precarious situations or involved in workplace accidents.
Those changes were being pushed by the left-wing CGIL trade union.
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“We want to reverse a culture that has prioritised the interests of business over those of workers,” CGIL general secretary Maurizio Landini told AFP.
The centre-left Democratic Party is also backing the proposals — even though it introduced some of the laws while in office in the past.
The proposals took aim at measures in a so-called Jobs Act, passed a decade ago by the government of the Democratic Party prime minister, Matteo Renzi, in order to liberalise the labour market.
Supporters say the act boosted employment but detractors say it made work more precarious.
Under new leadership, the Democratic Party — which is polling behind Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy — is seeking to woo working-class voters by backing the referendum reform.
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‘Shameful’: Outrage in Italy as PM Meloni says she won’t vote in June referendums
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni broke her months-long silence over the upcoming June 8th-9th referendums. She said she would go to her polling station but “won’t pick up the ballots” for the vote. Voters can head to their assigned polling stations on polling day and refuse to pick up ballots used for voting. If they do so, they are considered ‘non-voters’, meaning that they won’n count towards the quorum – the minimum voter turnout (over 50 percent) needed for referendum results to be valid. Several members of her government, which strongly opposes the proposed labour and citizenship reforms, have publicly called on voters to boycott the vote, including Senate Speaker Ignazio La Russa. The government’s attempts to encourage abstention have prompted vehement reactions from opposition members.
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Meloni broke her months-long silence over the upcoming June 8th-9th referendums during official celebrations for Italy’s Republic Day on Monday.
“I’ll go to the polling station, but won’t pick up the ballots,” she told reporters in Rome.
“It’s one of the options,” she added.
Under Italy’s referendum laws, voters can head to their assigned polling stations on polling day and refuse to pick up the ballots used for voting.
If they do so, they are considered ‘non-voters’, meaning that they won’t count towards the quorum – the minimum voter turnout (over 50 percent) needed for referendum results to be valid.
Meloni’s announcement sparked cries of outrage from Italy’s centre-left opposition, which strongly backs the June referendums, including a closely-watched vote on easing the country’s rules on applying for citizenship through residency.
READ ALSO: Seven things to know about Italy’s citizenship referendum
Giuseppe Conte, the leader of Italy’s populist Five-Star Movement (M5S), called Meloni’s words “shameful”, saying that the premier’s decision to abstain from voting was “outrageous, albeit not surprising”.
Elly Schlein, the head of Italy’s centre-left Democratic Party (PD), accused Meloni of “mocking Italians”.
“Instead of saying whether she’s in favour of or against the five questions on labour and citizenship, she’s confirmed that she wants to scuttle the referendums […] because not picking up the ballots is equivalent to not voting,” she said.
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Several members of Italy’s centre-left coalition argued that Meloni’s announcement on Monday laid bare her fears that the referendums may reach the required voter turnout.
“If even the Prime Minister feels compelled to announce that she won’t pick up the ballots, it can only mean one thing: they’re afraid that the quorum might be reached,” Angelo Bonelli, head of the Greens-Left Alliance (AVS), told Ansa.
Meloni’s words came after multiple members of her government, which strongly opposes the proposed labour and citizenship reforms, publicly called on voters to boycott the vote.
Senate Speaker Ignazio La Russa, from Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, said in late May he would “campaign to ensure that people stay home” on polling day.
READ ALSO: ‘Stay home’: Italy’s government boycotts ‘dangerous’ citizenship vote
Similarly, Igor Iezzi, an MP from Deputy PM Matteo Salvini’s anti-immigration League party, said that abstention was his party’s official position, adding that the “goal is to prevent the quorum from being reached.”
The government’s attempts to encourage abstention have prompted vehement reactions from opposition members.
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Riccardo Magi, leader of the +Europa party, said that the hard-right coalition’s “coordinated strategy” to boycott the referendums shows “a lack of awareness of the institutions and role they hold”.
Italy needs “a democratic rebellion” to fight abstentionism, he added.
Two in three Italians won’t vote in June referendums, poll says
Only 32 percent of eligible voters plan to cast their votes in the June 8th-9th referendums. These include four votes on labour law provisions and a closely-watched citizenship vote on halving the current 10-year wait time for naturalisation claims. If the votes fail to reach the required turnout (or quorum), they will automatically be considered void, regardless of their outcomes. The government’s attempts to encourage abstention have sparked outrage among members of the centre-left coalition backing the referendum. The Youtrend poll was released amid growing calls from members of Italy’s ruling coalition to abstain from voting. The poll was conducted for news site HuffPost Italia by political polling firm Y outrend. For more information about Italy’s citizenship referendum, see: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.
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The poll, which was conducted by Youtrend for news site HuffPost Italia, found that only 32 percent of eligible voters plan to cast their votes in the June 8th-9th referendums.
These include four votes on labour law provisions and a closely-watched citizenship vote on halving the current 10-year wait time for naturalisation claims down to five.
READ ALSO: Seven things to know about Italy’s citizenship referendum
HuffPost called Youtrend’s findings “discouraging”, saying they validated long-standing concerns that the referendums may not be able to meet the voter turnout (over 50 percent) needed for their results to be valid.
Should the votes fail to reach the required turnout (or quorum), they will automatically be considered void, regardless of their outcomes.
Youtrend’s poll results forecast an extremely high abstention rate among right-wing voters following calls from key figures in PM Giorgia Meloni’s government to boycott the referendums, particularly the citizenship one.
READ ALSO: ‘Stay home’: Italy’s government boycotts ‘dangerous’ citizenship vote
Youtrend estimated that only 13 percent of right-wing voters would head to the polls on June 8th-9th.
The figure fell to 12 percent when considering supporters of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party alone.
Turnout was expected to be high among left-wing voters.
Youtrend estimated that up to 82 percent of Democratic Party (PD) voters and around 77 percent of Greens and Left Alliance (AVS) supporters would cast their votes in the upcoming referendums.
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Turnout was expected to drop to around 50 percent for voters of centrist parties including +Europa, Azione e Italia Viva, according to the research centre.
The Youtrend poll was released amid growing calls from members of Italy’s ruling coalition to abstain from voting.
Roberto Vannacci, an MEP for the anti-immigration League party, said last week that the referendums “must fail”.
“The first four referendum questions were proposed by the left to repeal a law made by the left,” whereas the citizenship question “only serves to drum up electoral support,” he said.
Grazia Di Maggio, a member of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, also condemned the referendums, calling them a “clumsy attempt to sabotage the government”.
“I believe Italians will have better things to do [than voting] on June 8th and 9th,” she added.
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The government’s attempts to encourage abstention have sparked outrage among members of the centre-left coalition backing the referendums.
READ ALSO: Over 1.4 million could claim Italian citizenship if referendum passes, study says
Riccardo Magi, leader of the +Europa party, said that the hard-right coalition’s “coordinated strategy” to boycott the referendums shows “a lack of awareness of the institutions and role they hold”.
Italy needs “a democratic rebellion” to fight abstentionism, he added.
The leader of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, also urged people to vote, saying that Italians “have an extraordinary opportunity to take part in a vote that can improve the country’s future by fighting job insecurity, increasing workplace safety, and finally helping to award citizenship to those who are born in or choose Italy as their home”.
For all the latest news, information and practical advice about Italian citizenship, see our citizenship section.