Italy in coordination fever: naturalization and labor law on the brink!

Italy in coordination fever: naturalization and labor law on the brink!

On Whit Monday, June 9, 2025, the polling stations in Italy are open to a significant referendum to change naturalization regulations and to new labor law rules. This is the second day of the referendum that had already started on Sunday. According to vienna.at, only 22% of the 47 million eligible voters had submitted their votes. The high decline in the turnout indicates that it could fail due to the required quorum of 50%.

The official polling stations are open on Monday until 3 p.m. Then the vote begins and a result is expected for the Monday afternoon. The strictness of Italian citizenship requirements, which are among the strictest in Europe, forms the core of the referendum. Proponents of the reform require a reduction in the length of stay to apply for citizenship from ten to five years.

background and support

The vote was largely initiated by left -wing unions and the left opposition. These initiatives are in the context of a growing discussion about the rights of foreigners in Italy. Around five million foreigners with a residence permit currently live in Italy, which makes 8.7% of the total population of around 59 million, as reported by the National Statistics Office. The falling population in Italy is also a central topic because the low birth rate is increasingly worrying.

In addition to the questions about citizenship, the referendum includes four votes on labor law issues, for example to improve dismissal protection and higher severance payments. These suggestions aim to partially withdraw the labor market reform, which was introduced by the center-left government under Matteo Renzi in 2016, the so-called “Jobs Act”. However, the government parties under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni boycott the referendum and call for the abstent of votes.

voting right in Germany in comparison

Eurostat that provide comprehensive statistics on this topic.