- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - Aujourd'hui 04:49

An Italian lesson

AUSTIN FIDO ITALY HAD a referendum earlier this month. More accurately, Italy had five referendums (or referenda, if you’re still taking grammatical instruction from Ancient Rome): four questions about employment law, and one proposed change to how Italian citizenship can be earned. The citizenship question got plenty of worldwide media coverage, since it speaks to issues of immigration and belonging that currently dominate the political dialogue on both sides of the North Atlantic. Would Italians support one of Europe’s more restrictive citizenship regimes, or vote to make it easier for long-term residents to win full citizenship rights? As it happens, Italians voted overwhelmingly in favour of relaxing citizenship laws. The “Yes” (to changing the law) vote won 65 per cent support in the referendum, backing for the proposed changes to employment law was even higher, and all the results were declared null and void. That’s not a typo, nor evidence of a catastrophic lapse in legislative competence. Referendums are pretty common in Italy – the country has considered more than 70 since the mid-1970s – and it’s also common for the vote to be decisive and the result to be tossed out. In 2022, a succession of questions about laws relating to the judiciary attracted massive majorities in favour of reform: the vote was nullified. In 2016, more than 80 per cent of voters said “yes” to changing a law governing oil and gas concessions: the vote was not accepted. Italy hasn’t seen a referendum result upheld since 2011. Between 1997 and 2009, no fewer than 24 separate referendum votes were voided. This is by design, not accident. The Italian referendum system requires not just a majority vote for yes or no, but also that a majority of registered voters participate in the poll. If the votes cast in a referendum in Italy don’t amount to at least 50 per cent plus one of the total number of registered Italian voters, the result is nullified. Which is why Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni told her supporters to stay away from the most recent referendum. She didn’t want to see citizenship law reformed, and she didn’t want to boost the legitimacy of an exercise where every vote counts toward making the vote count. So she told her fellow naysayers to stay away, and they heard her. Turnout for the referendum flatlined at 29.89 per cent, and the vote was declared void for lack of interest. Critics argue that Italy’s system makes it too easy to have referendums and too easy to undermine them. These things cost money, time, and energy. It’s disheartening to see the nation consistently refuse to take part (ironically, often as a tactic to actively affect the outcome). Nonetheless, I admire the Italian approach to referendums for at least recognising that there are two components to a democratic mandate: the number of votes cast for or against, and the overall number of voters participating. We’re seeing those two elements deployed against each other in TT at the moment. The government claims an overwhelming mandate thanks to winning more than 50 per cent of the seats in Parliament with more than 50 per cent of the votes cast in the last general election. The opposition argues turnout was low. Only about 54 per cent of TT’s registered voters showed up for the election. By that calculation, the government was elected by roughly 50 per cent of 50 per cent: about 25 per cent of the total voting population – hardly a massive endorsement. It’s an argument without end because both sides have a point. Indeed, one suspects they’d each cheerfully adopt the other position if circumstances so dictated. The Italian referendum system can’t help with that. A general election that could be declared void if enough people abstained would be a recipe for chaos. But it is a system that might be useful to TT in other ways. In Italy, one role for the referendum is as a casting vote in situations where there might be a majority in Parliament but not the two-thirds majority needed to effect constitutional change. In those circumstances, a referendum can be called to make the general public the deciding vote: back the parliamentary majority for change, or leave things as they are. If a government wants to change the design of the coat of arms or radically alter the laws covering when someone can legally kill another person, might that government benefit from being able to back up its majority in Parliament (the most basic requirement for forming a government in the first place) with a definitive nationwide vote on the matter in question? The post An Italian lesson appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.