Italy's referendum on citizenship and job protections fails because of low turnout

ROME — Italy's referendums aimed at relaxing citizenship laws and improving job protections failed on Monday because of low turnout.

But organizers said that it contributed to restarting the public debate in the country over high-stakes issues.

The result was a clear defeat for the center-left opposition and a victory for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her ruling right-wing coalition, which openly supported abstention.

Final data showed that turnout stood at 30.6% of eligible voters after two days of polling, well below the 50% plus one required to make the vote valid.

Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party celebrated the referendum's failure.

''The only real goal of this referendum was to bring down the Meloni government," the party said on social media, posting a picture of the main opposition's leaders. ''In the end, it was the Italians who brought you down.''

Maurizio Landini, leader of the CGIL trade union that was behind the initiative, acknowledged the defeat, but stressed it could be a starting point to revive key social battles focusing on workers' rights.

''We knew it wouldn't be a walk in the park,'' he said. "There is an obvious crisis of democracy and participation."

Landini noted that more than 14 million Italians cast their ballots in the two-days referendum, with more than 80% voting in favor of the proposed measures aimed at strengthening job protections.

The five proposals wanted to make it easier for immigrants and children born in Italy to foreigners to obtain citizenship — halving the years of residency required to five from 10 — and provide more job protections.

The leader of Italy'a center-left Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, stressed that ''more electors voted in these referendums than those who voted for the right in 2022, backing Meloni in government."

Rights at stake

Campaigners for the change in the citizenship law said that it would help second-generation Italians born in the country to non- European Union parents better integrate into a culture they already see as theirs.

The new rules, if passed, would have affected about 2.5 million foreign nationals who still struggle to be recognized as citizens.

Activist groups said that the proposed reforms also would have allowed faster access to civil and political rights, such as the right to vote, eligibility for public employment and freedom of movement within the EU.

The referendum on citizenship, however, proved to be more divisive than the others, as only about 65% voted ''yes'' in support of measures easing the current laws.

Activists and opposition parties denounced the lack of public debate on the measures, accusing the governing coalition of having tried to dampen interest in sensitive issues that directly impact immigrants and workers.

In May, Italy's AGCOM communications authority filed a complaint against RAI state television and other broadcasters over a lack of adequate and balanced coverage.

Opinion polls published in mid-May showed that only 46% of Italians were aware of the issues driving the referendums.

''Many believe that the referendum institution should be reviewed in light of the high levels of abstention (that) emerged in recent elections and the turnout threshold should be lowered,'' said Lorenzo Pregliasco, political analyst and pollster at YouTrend.