Italy to hold five referendums on 8-9 June 2025.

The Italian government has set the date for five referendums, including a landmark vote on easing Italy's strict citizenship rules, to be held on 8-9 June.

The referendums, which include four questions relating to work and the Jobs Act, will be held in parallel to a run-off in Italy's 2025 municipal elections whose first round will be held on 25-26 May.

The citizenship referendum aims to reduce from 10 to five the number of years of continual legal residence in Italy required to apply for Italian citizenship which, once obtained, would automatically be passed on to the citizen's children.

Under the current 1992 legislation, non-EU nationals are required to be legally resident in Italy for 10 years before they can apply for citizenship, and children born in Italy to foreigners cannot apply for citizenship until they turn 18.

The other four referendum questions that will be put to the public vote in June were promoted by the CGIL trade union and concern issues related to the world of work.

These include a push to abolish the Jobs Act, the labour reform implemented by the Renzi government in 2016, and to modify some regulations on workplace safety and severance pay in small businesses.

Citizenship referendum

Italy's constitutional court in January gave the green light to the referendum that aims to make it easier for foreigners to claim Italian citizenship, a move opposed by the right-wing government of prime minister Giorgia Meloni.

The final approval from the consitutional court came after the court of cassation ruled in favour of the referendum bid which was the result of an online petition that surpassed its goal of half a million signatures.

Riccardo Magi, leader of the centre-left +Europa party, who was the driving force behind the referendum bid, hailed the January ruling as "a first victory for democracy and participation, a historic step for an Italy that recognises the rights of those who live, love and build it every day."

However on Friday Magi expressed his dissatisfaction with the summer referendum date chosen by the government "because it is evidently afraid of popular participation and is counting on abstentionism rather than discussing the merits".

Magi had requested that the citizenship referendum be held on the first round of the administrative elections, on 25-26 May.

A statement issued by Meloni's cabinet, however, said the date was chosen "in consideration of the need to reconcile the widest possible possibility of citizen participation with the need for continuity of teaching activities in schools where the polling stations are located".

Magi said he was satisfied that the government had accepted a request to guarantee voting for "non-resident citizens" who for reasons of study, work or health live in a municipality other than their home.

For a referendum result to be valid in Italy, voter turnout will need to exceed 50 per cent.

Photo credit: Massimo Todaro / Shutterstock.com.