The End of Italy’s Referendum Anomaly?

Abstract

The referendum of 18 April 1999 was intended to force parliament, by pressure of public opinion, to revise the mixed electoral system in a more decisively anti-proportional direction. The existing system, introduced in 1993, was a compromise outcome which had resulted from a similar mobilisation against the still powerful parliamentary elites of the so-called First Republic. Subsequently, supporters of proportionality had sought to reinforce their position and the principle of proportional representation, for example via new legislation on party financing. With the failure of the third attempt at constitutional reform via parliament (1997–8) and continuing government instability exemplified by the change of prime minister and cabinet in October 1998, many despaired of the establishment of the much invoked and much contested Second Republic. The failure of the 1999 referendum to reach the quorum, despite a huge majority in favour of its majoritarian implications, led many to conclude that a cycle of referendum-driven reform had come to an end, and with it the chance of achieving a new institutional framework for the Republic. The pressure for reform remained strong, however, and new referendum campaigns for electoral and wider reform were immediately launched.