Italy’s Meloni concedes referendum defeat, calling it ‘a lost opportunity’

The prime minister admits defeat in the high-stakes vote on a justice reform package but vows to keep her seat.Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has conceded defeat in a referendum on her justice reforms, while confirming she would not hand in her resignation.“The Italians have decided. And we respect this decision,” she said in a statement on X on Monday, alongside a video, saying the result of the referendum was “a lost opportunity to modernise Italy”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Italians vote in high-stakes justice referendum in key test for Melonilist 2 of 4Europe’s growing fight over Israeli goods: Boycott movements mushroomlist 3 of 4Europe’s Israel policy faces a democratic testlist 4 of 4Italy probes suspect in Sarajevo ‘sniper tourism’ during Bosnia war: Reportend of listIn the video, she stressed that “this does not change our commitment to continue, with seriousness and determination, to work for the good of the nation and to honour the mandate entrusted to us”.Meloni’s hard-right government wanted to change Italy’s constitution to separate the roles of judges and prosecutors and reform their oversight body.She claimed the plan is essential to guarantee impartiality and improve the functioning of Italy’s creaking justice system.But critics slammed it as a political power grab that fails to address the real challenges, from years-long trials to prison overcrowding.Elly Schlein, the leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, said before the vote that the proposal is poorly drafted and “weakens the independence of the judiciary”.Fight with judiciaryMeloni and her ministers have repeatedly attacked rulings they claim are too lenient, particularly on the issue of immigration.Their proposed reform sparked intense opposition within the judiciary, with more than 80 percent of members of Italy’s National Magistrates Association staging a one-day strike last year.The referendum campaign was hard-fought and bitter.