Schlein Highlights Voter Turnout Despite Referenda Quorum Failure

Rome: Centre-left opposition Democratic Party (PD) leader Elly Schlein on Monday addressed the failure of five referenda on labor and citizenship rights to reach a quorum. She emphasized that over 14 million Italians participated in the vote, surpassing the number who voted in the government in 2022. Schlein expressed her determination to revisit the issue in the next general election, expressing confidence that the centre-left could outperform Giorgia Meloni’s current centre-right government.

According to Ansa News Agency, Schlein stated, “The difference between us and Meloni’s Right is that today we are happy that over 14 million people went to vote, while they are rejoicing because the others didn’t.” The PD leader criticized the government’s approach, which included urging citizens to ignore the vote. She underscored that a significant number of voters engaged with the referendums, outnumbering those who supported the right-wing government in the previous election.

Schlein further commented, “We’ll talk about it again in the next elections. They launched a real political and media boycott campaign of this vote but they have very little to celebrate: more voters voted for these referendums than those who voted for the Right, sending Meloni to government in 2022.” She emphasized the importance of considering public opinion, stating, “When more people than those who voted for you ask you to change a law, you should think about it instead of mocking it.”