It was always a long shot. But many of The Local’s readers had their fingers crossed that there might be a chance of a Yes vote in the closely-watched referendum this week on whether Italy should cut the wait for those applying for citizenship through residency.
Non-EU nationals must live in Italy for 10 years before they can start the application process, and usually have to wait several more years for it to be processed.
The waiting time to apply would have been reduced to five years under the referendum proposal, putting Italy in line with other major European countries including Germany and France.
READ ALSO: Who is entitled to Italian citizenship by residency and how do you apply?
But, as expected, voter turnout was too low, which meant that the referendum result was declared invalid. There’s a minimum threshold, or quorum, of 50 percent for the vote to count. Turnout was 30.6 percent, slightly lower than polls predicted.
This is nothing unusual in an Italian referendum. Participation has been historically low and falling for decades.
As the results came in, there were renewed calls for sweeping changes to the country’s referendum laws. There have long been calls for lowering the quorum from 50 to 40 percent, or eliminating it altogether.
But, without this threshold, how would the vote have gone?
Of the votes cast this time, over 65 percent were in favour of changing the law on citizenship.
READ ALSO: Over 65 percent of voters back Italian citizenship reform in failed referendum
While high enough for a positive result, this was lower than the percentage who voted in favour of the other four referendum questions (on workers’ rights), which was 87 to 89 percent, reflecting divided public opinion.
The leftwing opposition parties who backed the referendum said that it had sparked public debate on an issue that no one had been talking about.
They could, in theory, put similar proposals to parliament in future. However, they’d be unlikely to get far while the ruling coalition government enjoys a majority in both houses.
The government is strongly opposed to easing citizenship rules in any way. Senior ministers made it clear ahead of the vote that they didn’t want the quorum to be reached, urging voters to “stay home” or “go to the beach”.
The failure of the referendum was widely reported as a victory for Meloni, who had appeared at a polling station on Sunday to announce to reporters that she would not be voting.
Her government’s stance shouldn’t surprise anyone.
In March it abruptly forced through changes to the law on eligibility for Italian citizenship by descent, applying a two-generational limit. Last year, it quashed proposals to extend citizenship to young people who complete their education in Italy.
READ ALSO: KEY POINTS: What are Italy's new rules on claiming citizenship by descent?
As long as Meloni’s government remains in power, any changes that would make the lives of foreign nationals in Italy easier seem a remote possibility.
The proposal to cut the waiting period from 10 years to five originally came from Italiani senza cittadinanza (Italians Without Citizenship), a grassroots movement highlighting obstacles faced by would-be applicants. They say they’ll continue to campaign on the issue.
For those who plan to apply for citizenship via residency in the next few years, the wait continues.
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