Giorgia Meloni and the referendums, the “farce” indication of the Prime Minister on the vote: “I go to the polling station but I don't collect the ballots”

A voting indication that the opposition has no trouble commenting as "smart but false". It is the one provided today by Giorgia Meloni , with the Prime Minister who on the day in which the Republic Day is celebrated expresses herself for the first time clearly on the upcoming referendums of June 8 and 9 on work and citizenship.

The Prime Minister, on the sidelines of the celebrations, questioned by reporters finally clarifies her position on the referendum questions: " I'm going to vote but I'm not withdrawing the ballot. It's one of the options ," says the Prime Minister.

But what does what Meloni said actually mean? A circular from Viminale , the Ministry of the Interior, clearly explains it: “With regard to the recording of the number of voters, it seems useful to remember that those who refuse the ballot should not be counted among the voters of the electoral section”.

When the voter refuses the ballot and requests that his/her abstention be recorded, the president of the polling station, "in order not to slow down the regular progress of operations", will record the request "in a concise and rapid manner, with the note in the report itself of the voter's personal details, the reason for the complaint or protest, also attaching any writings that the voter himself/herself wishes to deliver to the polling station", the Ministry clarifies.

In essence, with her choice the Prime Minister, even if she goes to the polls, will not be counted among the voters and therefore will not contribute to reaching the quorum , that is, the 50% plus one of the voters necessary for the referendums to be considered valid.

A ploy that the opposition immediately unmasks. For the Democratic Party senator Dario Parrini , vice president of the Constitutional Affairs Commission, the prime minister's choice "is a way of abstaining and sabotaging the achievement of the quorum which, in numerical terms, is identical to a traditional abstention. It is a legitimate choice, but it must be described for what it is: an invitation to abstain. If it is presented as a "participatory" alternative to abstention, it is a fraud . And a prime minister should never resort to deception. If she does so, it shows little sense and respect for institutions ."

Riccardo Magi , leader of +Europa and president of the committee promoting the referendum on citizenship, shares the same opinion: for Magi, Meloni's "is a clever but false statement because you cannot go to vote without collecting the ballots from any referendum".

“A de facto invitation to abstention, therefore, which makes one pale especially because it was made during the ceremony of June 2, when Italians chose the Republic in a referendum”, the secretary of +Europa further underlines.