Italians reject resumption of nuclear plants in referendum
Jun. 14, 2011
An overwhelming majority of Italians have voted to reject a government proposal to resume nuclear power plants in a two-day referendum through Monday, the first such vote in the wake of the nuclear crisis in Japan, local media reported.
The result of the referendum will be legally binding as turnout has reached 56.99 percent excluding overseas ballots, the Interior Ministry said. Quoting the ministry's provisional tally, Italy's ANSA news agency and others said the antinuclear vote came to 94.4 percent.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has been pushing for resumption of nuclear power plants, said at a press conference Monday that Italy ''will have to say goodbye to the option of nuclear power stations,'' effectively acknowledging his defeat.
While Switzerland and Germany have already decided to ban nuclear power, the referendum result in Italy will add further momentum to the global antinuclear trend.
At the press conference, Berlusconi also said Italy must make further efforts to commit itself to renewable energies.
Berlusconi was aiming to resume operation of nuclear power plants after the shutting down of all of the country's four nuclear plants by 1990 following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
Berlusconi's plan, which included construction of new nuclear power plants, was based on the ground that more than 80 percent of Italy's energy demands depend on imports.
In January, Italy's constitutional court ruled that a national referendum could be held on the issue of nuclear power resumption following requests by opposition parties that oppose such a plan.
After the March accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, polls showed 70 percent of the Italian public were opposed to resuming nuclear power plants. The public's opposition to nuclear power grew clearer when the island autonomous region of Sardinia conducted a regional referendum in May over the construction of nuclear power plants, with about 97 percent of its residents voting against it.
In Italy, turnout in six consecutive referendums since 1997 that dealt with issues other than constitutional reform failed to clear the 50 percent threshold, rendering them ineffective. Turnout surpassed 50 percent in a 2006 referendum on constitutional reform.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on June 13, 2011)
The result of the referendum will be legally binding as turnout has reached 56.99 percent excluding overseas ballots, the Interior Ministry said. Quoting the ministry's provisional tally, Italy's ANSA news agency and others said the antinuclear vote came to 94.4 percent.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has been pushing for resumption of nuclear power plants, said at a press conference Monday that Italy ''will have to say goodbye to the option of nuclear power stations,'' effectively acknowledging his defeat.
While Switzerland and Germany have already decided to ban nuclear power, the referendum result in Italy will add further momentum to the global antinuclear trend.
At the press conference, Berlusconi also said Italy must make further efforts to commit itself to renewable energies.
Berlusconi was aiming to resume operation of nuclear power plants after the shutting down of all of the country's four nuclear plants by 1990 following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
Berlusconi's plan, which included construction of new nuclear power plants, was based on the ground that more than 80 percent of Italy's energy demands depend on imports.
In January, Italy's constitutional court ruled that a national referendum could be held on the issue of nuclear power resumption following requests by opposition parties that oppose such a plan.
After the March accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, polls showed 70 percent of the Italian public were opposed to resuming nuclear power plants. The public's opposition to nuclear power grew clearer when the island autonomous region of Sardinia conducted a regional referendum in May over the construction of nuclear power plants, with about 97 percent of its residents voting against it.
In Italy, turnout in six consecutive referendums since 1997 that dealt with issues other than constitutional reform failed to clear the 50 percent threshold, rendering them ineffective. Turnout surpassed 50 percent in a 2006 referendum on constitutional reform.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on June 13, 2011)
