An Italian referendum which sought to ease citizenship requirements, and was opposed by Giorgia Meloni’s government, has failed after just 30% of voters participated making it invalid.
A 50% participation rate was required to make the referendum, and, though ballot also featured other issues, a proposal to reduce the length of time a person is required to live in Italy before applying for citizenship from 10 to five years was the most controversial.
Turnout levels in Sicily were as low as 22%, reports said, despite the support of NGOs and trade unions who had supported the citizens initiative and campaigned for the Yes vote.
BBC reported that Meloni’s party, Brothers of Italy (FdI) party “posted an image of opposition leaders on Instagram with the caption: “You’ve lost!”
“The only real objective of this referendum was to topple the Meloni government. In the end though Italians toppled you,” the post read.
The European Conservative reports that “Meloni’s government coalition had encouraged voters to boycott the referendum” and “the two-day referendum ended on Monday afternoon with just under 30% of voters participating.”
“The opposition wanted to turn the referendum into a vote on the Meloni government. Meloni aide Giovanbattista Fazzolari told Reuters. “The response is very clear: the government emerges from this stronger and the opposition is weaker.”
The most highly contested proposal on the ballot aimed to reduce the residency time required to apply for citizenship from ten years to five. If passed, the measure would have affected about 2.5 million immigrants, organizers said. The referendum also included four questions backed by trade unions, seeking to repeal the 2016 Jobs Act and strengthen worker protections.
Immigration remains a hot button issue in Italy, and Meloni’s government recently signed a €200 million bilateral treaty in Albania to outsource migrant camps in exchange for assistance with infrastructure, healthcare, and administrative.