Today from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and tomorrow until 3 p.m. (local time), 51,303,216 Italians are being called to the polls to express their will on five referendum questions.

Four referendums concern labour legislation, while the fifth relates to the time required for citizens from non-EU countries working in Italy to be able to apply for citizenship.

More specifically, the first referendums concern the repeal of the law which, in case of dismissal of an employee without just cause, allows the employer not to rehire him/her and only to grant monetary compensation.

The second referendum proposes to repeal the law that states that in companies with fewer than fifteen employees, in the event of dismissal without just cause, compensation cannot exceed six salaries.

The third referendum calls for the responsibilities as well as the role of employees in fixed-term contracts not exceeding twelve months to be detailed, while the fourth referendum refers to the direct liability of companies that contract out to third parties in the event of industrial accidents.

In response to the fifth and final referendum, citizens will have to decide whether the minimum time required for immigrants working in the country to be able to apply for Italian citizenship can be reduced from ten to five years.

In the government majority, both the Italian Brothers and the League with Forza Italia have come out in favour of abstention. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced that she will go to her polling station in Rome, but that she will not pick up the ballots or vote.

In favour of a “yes” vote in all referendums on labour issues are the three main Italian opposition parties: the Democratic Party, the Five Stars, and the Italian Left with the Ecologists. On the citizenship referendum, the stance of the Democrats and the alliance of the Italian Left with the Ecologists is also positive, while the Five Star Party lets their voters make a conscience-based choice.

According to many analysts, it will be extremely difficult to get the turnout above 50%+1 of eligible voters. This is the minimum percentage required for the result of any referendum to be considered valid.

In the last 25 years, this percentage has been exceeded only once, in 2011, for a referendum on the public nature of water infrastructure, opposition to the development of nuclear-based technologies, and the obligation for members of the government to attend court hearings like all other citizens.

The current summer weather is certainly not conducive to citizen attendance. According to the Italian press, the centre-left opposition has set a minimum target of more than 12.5 million citizens going to the polling stations and voting. This is the number of votes that the parties of the conservative alliance had received in the 2022 parliamentary elections. But associates of the Italian prime minister have let it slip that they believe there is no connection between the elections to renew parliament and the turnout of citizens who want to answer the questions posed by the current referendums.