A loss in the referendum will probably weaken the right-wing prime minister’s hand politically, most critically ahead of a general election expected before the end of next year.
Italy’s right has long wanted to shake up a judicial system that it claims is politicized and biased toward the left – an assertion disputed by the opposition and many legal experts – vowing the reforms proposed in the referendum would make the system more accountable.
Opponents of Meloni’s reforms warned an overhaul risked weakening judicial independence and portrayed the referendum as an attempt to bring fiercely autonomous legal officials under government control.
Voters were asked to approve changes to how judges and prosecutors are governed and disciplined, including separating their career paths and reshaping oversight bodies.
The tension over the judiciary reflect long-running tension in Italian politics. The Mani Pulite (Clean Hands) investigations of the early 1990s exposed a vast network of corruption that wiped out an entire political class, leaving magistrates with heightened authority and politicians deeply mistrustful of the judiciary.
The shadow of former playboy Prime Minister and media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, who built much of his political narrative around battles with prosecutors, also hung over the campaign.
