On 09 June, a referendum drafted by the Italian opposition party proposed to ease the citizenship rules and tighten the job protection policies, but the proposal failed as it did not reach the minimum threshold. For the proposed law to be successful, the turnout must come to around 50 per cent, but from the data collected from various polling stations, the turnout reached 30 per cent. 

The referendum was proposed by the trade unions and the civic organisation that addressed the recent political debate, especially the 2016 Labour Act, as well as the migrant reception and integration policies. The ballot had five questions in it, including cutting down the length of an individual's stay from 10 years to five, following which they could apply for citizenship. Other questions were related to labour issues, protection of workers, small enterprises, and short-term contracts. The last question is on how long non-EU residents can reside in the country and the eligibility for their citizenship.  

The referendum aimed to repeal the four labour laws that were introduced in the Jobs Act of 2016 and develop an amendment that will encourage more foreign residents to apply for citizenship. This was also to strengthen the labour protections in the country. 

The low voter turnout resulted negatively for the coalition centre and left parties, civic society groups and the trade unions, but ensures another win for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who opposed this proposal and encouraged people to boycott the vote. Meloni also visited the polling station in Rome but did not cast her vote. Several activists protested for the referendum to pass, arguing that 10 years for citizenship was too long and reducing it would increase the economy of Italy. 

References
Laura Gozzi, “Italian citizenship referendum void after low turnout,” BBC, 09 June 2025
Gavin Blackburn, “Referendum in Italy to fail as turnout far below threshold, polling agency says,” Euronews, 09 June 2025
“Italian referendum on easing citizenship rules thwarted by low turnout,” Al Jazeera, 09 June 2025
Angelo Amante & Alvise Armellini, “Low turnout thwarts Italian referendums, deals blow to opposition,” Reuters, 09 June 2025