Italy: The hardline left-wing party Rifondazione Communista and the left-wing trade union CGIL were the biggest losers in Italy at the weekend when a referendum on proposed labour reforms failed to reach the necessary 50 per cent-plus-one quorum, with less than 26 per cent of the 49.5 million electorate turning out to vote, writes Paddy Agnew
Rifondazione, the electoral partner responsible for bringing down Romano Prodi's centre-left government in 1998, had been the main driving force behind a referendum whose scope was to extend the infamous "Article 18" to all Italian employers.
"Article 18", a clause in the 1970 Labour Law, basically empowers the Labour Court to order the rehiring of a worker dismissed "without just cause".
Many on the left regard "Article 18" as the bottom line in basic job protection, while economists and centre-right politicians have argued that a country such as Italy, which already has an inflexible labour market, cannot afford to render itself even less flexible.
As of now, "Article 18" applies only to companies with more than 15 employees, but Sunday's referendum had proposed the extension of the measure to smaller firms - those which have traditionally been one of the strengths of the Italian economy.
Even though there was a Yes vote of more than 81 per cent in the referendum, the failure to reach a quorum means that it will be declared null and void.
Rifondazione leader Mr Fausto Bertinotti conceded that he had lost the vote, but added: "We have lost, but that does not change the fact that tremendous injustices divide the workers of this country."
The Minister for Industrial Production, Mr Antonio Marzano, applauded the referendum's failure, commenting: "Italians have understood perfectly that these are not issues you can sort out with a 'yes' or 'no' vote in a referendum."
Although Italians traditionally turn out in large numbers to vote - 81.2 per cent voted in the general election two years ago - last weekend represented the fourth occasion since 1990 that a referendum vote has failed to make the quorum.