Italy: On the streets against Meloni

The coalition of three right-wing to far-right parties under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni holds a majority in parliament, so the liberal and left-wing opposition is trying to put the government under pressure at the halfway point of its legislative term elsewhere: in the country's public squares. With five referendums consolidated over the Whitsun weekend, Elly Schlein, the Social Democrats' informal opposition leader, in particular, sought to force through a new labor market policy together with the unions – but without success.

These included making employment contracts permanent, improving protection against dismissal, increasing severance payments, and increasing liability for workplace accidents. A fifth referendum focused on accelerating the naturalization of people from outside the EU: in the future, this should be possible after five years of residence in Italy , rather than ten.

As is customary in Italy, polling stations were open for two days: all day Sunday and until 3 p.m. on Monday. It quickly became clear that the referendums had failed because, at around 30 percent, significantly less than the required half of all eligible voters participated.

Referendums have an important tradition in Italy since the republic was established through such a referendum after World War II and the monarchy was abolished. At that time, voter turnout was almost 90 percent; in the 72 subsequent referendums, the 50 percent quorum was not met in almost half of the cases.

With its loudly announced project, the opposition wanted to send a signal that the government was pursuing anti-social policies against the majority of the population. Meloni's coalition had to oppose the demands on principle, because otherwise, with its majority in parliament, it would have already been able to change the legal regulations under discussion. Accordingly, Meloni, in particular, had devised a special tactic to thwart the opposition's success. The Prime Minister had called on her supporters not to participate in the referendums at all, so that the 50 percent quorum would not be reached. Although she herself announced her presence at her polling station in Rome – out of "respect for the constitution," as it was stated – she wanted to leave without voting. She was viciously insulted by the opposition for this maneuver, although the opposition had acted similarly in previous years.

The issues on which the opposition has mobilized are being hotly debated even independently of the referendum. The social situation of workers is considered difficult, many jobs are precarious, and companies are very powerful. Youth unemployment, in particular, is extremely high, and working conditions for young professionals are very poor by European standards: Those who can are emigrating abroad . The Meloni government has so far done little to change these grievances that have persisted for decades.

The legal regulations now under challenge were introduced during the government of current opposition politician Matteo Renzi, who served as Italy's Social Democratic Prime Minister from 2014 to 2016. The liberalization of the labor market was intended to increase employment at the time, but his former party now rejects it – just as the current SPD rejected Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's Hartz IV reforms in Germany. Renzi later founded the Italia Viva party, which has a small number of members in parliament.

The goal of the fifth referendum, the faster naturalization of foreigners living in Italy, concerned a measure widely demanded by experts and business circles to give more people access to the labor market in light of the dramatically shrinking population. However, it did not fit with the Meloni government's harsh anti-immigration stance, according to which Italian passports should not be "given away." Only the second-largest coalition partner, Forza Italia, once founded by the now-deceased businessman Silvio Berlusconi, supported this plan—as it has now become apparent, in vain.

Opposition demonstrations calling for solidarity with the suffering Palestinian civilian population in Gaza were significantly more successful than expected. In Rome alone, around 300,000 people participated on Whit Saturday, despite perfect weather for excursions and swimming, including the leaders of almost all opposition parties. Elly Schlein spoke of an "enormous public reaction" against the war.

Numerous speakers accused the Meloni government of inaction and complicity with the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Meloni defended herself by pointing out that she had repeatedly described the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip as "increasingly dramatic and unjustified" and had "difficult discussions" with Netanyahu on the matter. However, she also consistently emphasized that Israel did not initiate the hostilities.

Opposition leader Schlein believes this doesn't go far enough, and she is calling for more pressure on the Israeli government. The demonstrations are intended to show the world "a different Italy": "An Italy that doesn't remain silent like the Meloni government, an Italy that instead wants peace, an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, humanitarian aid, and the recognition of the State of Palestine ."