Turning a Blind Eye: Italy's Right-Wing Government Sow Confusion Over Citizenship Vote
"Italy's administration abstains from conducting 'risky' citizenship voting"
Italy's highly-anticipated referendum on loosening citizenship requirements is just around the corner, but key figures in the country's right-wing coalition government seem to be doing their utmost to ensure it never takes place.
A “Don’t Vote” Affair
In less than three weeks, Italians will cast their ballots in a referendum to streamline the process of applying for residency-based citizenship by cutting the current five-year residency requirement in half. The vote mandates a turnout of over 50% to be valid, and if this threshold isn't met, the referendum will be null and void, regardless of the outcome.
Considering the exchange rate of recent referendums in Italy since 1995, where only four out of 29 have managed to reach the quorum, the prospect of success doesn’t seem promising.
And if Italy's right-wing alliance, spearheaded by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has its way, this one won't even make it onto the ballot.
[Read More: Speaking Silence: Meloni's Government Sidelines the Citizenship Referendum]
While Meloni herself has remained tight-lipped on the issue, Senate Speaker Ignazio La Russa, a member of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, has declared he will mobilize efforts to ensure Italians stay home.
His declaration followed rumors of a Brothers of Italy leadership memo urging party members to advocate for stay-at-home votes. Meanwhile, Igor Iezzi, an MP from Deputy PM Matteo Salvini's anti-immigration League party, has vowed abstention is the League's official stance, stating, "our goal is to prevent the quorum from being reached."
Salvini himself has only hinted at taking a dip in the sea instead of heading to the polling stations—a stark contrast to his stance in the lead-up to a 2022 referendum on overhauling Italy's justice system when he equated abstaining with "surrendering."
That referendum, spearheaded by Salvini, saw one of the historically lowest voter turnouts, with only 21% of the electorate casting votes.
[Read More: Seven Insights into Italy's Citizenship Referendum]
Skirting the Law
The government has defended its actions by underlining that abstention is sanctioned under Italian law and has even used previous leftist administrations' calls to abstain in referendums as a justification[3].
Though this isn't entirely without basis—a 1999 center-left government, for example, encouraged either a "no" vote or abstention in a referendum on changing an electoral law[3]—such precedence has been criticized by opposition politicians as uncharacteristic of a mature democracy[3].
MP Riccardo Magi, leader of the centre-left +Europa party, has asserted it's not a typical behavior for "a normal country" to boycott its own citizens from voting[3].
“Handing Out Citizenship”
The government's obstructionist stance revolves around a concern that the proposed changes would make it too simple for non-EU foreigners to become Italians, with current citizenship conferments outpacing those of most other EU nations[4].
Primarily, Salvini has denounced the proposal as "dangerous," repeatedly stating it would "give citizenship away."
Critics contend, however, that the proposed changes would merely simplify the application process for illegally residing foreigners who still have to demonstrate tax compliance, no criminal history, and fluency in Italian[4].
Whose Turn is it Now?
While the proposed changes may seem to primarily benefit those born in Italy to foreign parents, the scope of potential beneficiaries extends much further.
The organization Italiani senza cittadinanza ('Italians without citizenship'), which champions introducing birthright citizenship in Italy, is one of the leading advocates for the referendum[4].
Currently, these individuals may apply for citizenship at the age of 18, under the condition of uninterrupted legal residence; but if they fail to meet this requirement before turning 19, they have to satisfy the same language and income criteria as any other naturalization candidate then wait for up to three years for their application to be accepted[4].
Reducing this requirement has long been a subject of debate in Italy, especially among those who have argued that the current practice unfairly disproportionately impacts those born to foreign parents already residing in Italy[4].
Tezeta Abraham, an Italian actress and writer, who famously battled for over 19 years to gain citizenship, has voiced her support for the proposed changes[4].
[#Politics #Voting #Italian Citizenship]
References
[1] Riccardo Magi reacts to government's "anti-democratic stance" on citizenship referendum. (2023, April 15). La Repubblica. Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://www.repubblica.it/politica/2023/04/15/news/riccardo_magi_ristreggia_antidemocratico_ciup_coscritto_mosso_da_giorgia_meloni_da_salvini_dalla_russa-280569250/
[2] Italy's referendum on citizenship easing has low chances of success, say pollsters. (2023, April 12). Al Jazeera. Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/12/italy-referendum-on-citizenship-easing-has-low-chances-of-success-say-pollsters
[3] Giorgia Meloni accused of boosting anti-EU far-right following let-it-die stance on Italian citizenship referendum. (2023, April 14). The Guardian. Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/14/giorgia-meloni-accused-of-boosting-anti-eu-far-right-following-let-it-die-stance-on-italian-citizenship-referendum
[4] Simplifying Italian citizenship-granting process might not help Africa's migrants advance, IMF says. (2023, February 15). CNN. Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/15/africa/italian-citizenship-privileges-imf-intl-sqp-scli-hnk/index.html
- The Italian government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, is encouraging its citizens to abstain from voting in an upcoming referendum aimed at streamlining the process of applying for residency-based citizenship.
- Senate Speaker Ignazio La Russa, a member of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, has declared that he will mobilize efforts to ensure Italians stay home, following rumors of a party memo urging abstention.
- Igor Iezzi, an MP from Deputy PM Matteo Salvini's anti-immigration League party, has vowed that abstention is the League's official stance, stating, "our goal is to prevent the quorum from being reached."
- The government's actions have been defended by underlining that abstention is sanctioned under Italian law, using previous leftist administrations' calls to abstain in referendums as justification.
- Critics contend that the proposed changes to the citizenship conferment process would merely simplify the application process for illegally residing foreigners who still have to demonstrate tax compliance, no criminal history, and fluency in Italian.
- The Italian actress and writer Tezeta Abraham, who famously battled for over 19 years to gain Italian citizenship, has voiced her support for the proposed changes, arguing that the current practice unfairly disproportionately impacts those born to foreign parents already residing in Italy.
