RADICAL PARTY CONGRESS DECIDES ON A REFERENDUM STRATEGY

"For every basic right which is ignored, for every delay putting constitutional pacts into practise, for every reactionary law imposed against democracy, against human rights, the rights of workers and citizens, recourse to the will of the people and the liberating force of the democratic masses - which can be expressed through referendums - is the only way to victory, unification and an alternative."

May 1974

VICTORY FOR THE REFERENDUM ON DIVORCE

60% of the Italians declared themselves in favour of divorce.

1974-1975

FIRST ATTEMPT TO SET UP "EIGHT REFERENDUMS AGAINST THE REGIME"

The Radical Party's first attempt to collect 800 signatures authenticated by a legal official, necessary according to Italian law to organise abrogational referendums, failed. The proposed referendums were concerned with the abolition of the Concordat between the Italian State and the Holy See, the military tribunal, laws regulating radio and television monopolies, freedom of speech, the order of journalists and laws on the public funding of political parties.

July 1975

REFERENDUMS TO LEGALISE ABORTION

More than eight hundred thousand signatures were collected by the Radical Party, in three months, for the approval of a referendum to abrogate the regulations punishing abortion as a crime. It was postponed to 1978 when the Italian Parliament approved a law for the regulation of abortion and abrogated by law the norms imposed by the referendum.

July 1977

"8 REFERENDUMS AGAINST THE REGIME"

5,600,000 signatures - about 700,00 for each referendum - were collected by the Radical Party in favour of 8 referendums on the following themes: the abrogation of the Concordat between the Italy and the Holy See which entitled the Church to immense privileges, regulations governing the use of military tribunals, norms of the penal code limiting freedom of speech, the law permitting segregation in mental hospitals, laws granting special powers to the police as regards arrest, perquisition and interception, the law giving persistent public funds to political parties, the norms establishing a particular "tribunal" - the Commission for Inquiry - composed of parliamentarians, for preventive sentences on offences by ministers thus sanctioning impunity for members of the Government (only one minister of the Italian Republic has ever been sentenced in Italy).

July 1978

ONLY TWO REFERENDUMS TO BE VOTED FOR

Out of the eight referendums proposed, the first four were declared "inadmissible" by the Constitutional Court. Those concerning mental hospital regulations and the "Commission for Inquiry" could not take place because Parliament passed new laws which abrogated the earlier ones. Only two referendums were voted: thanks to the terrorist campaign which was conducted throughout all the parties against the referendums, the vast majority of Italians (76.3%) declared they were in favour of special police laws, running very near the line on the other hand, 56.4% won the "no" to the abrogation of laws concerning the public financing of political parties.

July 1980

SIX MILLION SIGNATURES FOR TEN REFERENDUMS

The necessary signatures were collected against nuclear power centres, to abolish hunting, against the carrying of fire-arms by civilians, against life-imprisonment, for freedom of speech and for new police laws, for the demilitarisation of the Guardia di Finanza, for the complete legalisation of abortion, for the abolition of military tribunals and for the legalisation of the use of hashish.

May 1981

ONCE AGAIN - ONLY FOUR REFERENDUMS TO BE VOTED ON

With a scandalous sentence, the Constitutional Court declared at least five referendums inadmissible - the most popular (freedom of speech, nuclear power centres, hunting, hashish, Guardia di Finanza) - and one was defeated by a parliamentary law. The "nos"

prevailed heavily (88.4% against the total legalisation of abortion, 85% against the abrogation of special police regulations, 85.2% against the abolition of the wearing of fire-arms, 77.4% against the abrogation of life-sentences.

Summer 1986

REFERENDUMS AGAINST HUNTING, AND FOR JUSTICE

Over a million signatures were collected by Radicals, Socialists and Greens for the request to hold three referendums against nuclear power centres, 900 thousand (Radicals and Greens) against hunting and 680 thousand (Radicals, Socialists and Liberals) for the introduction of the penal responsibility of judges in serious cases of guilt and for the abolition of the parliamentary Commission which "filters" procedures for offences committed by ministers.

November 1987

YES WINS

For the second time, the Constitutional Court, under pressure from the Association of Hunters and Industrial Armourers, prevented the referendum on hunting. The majority of Italians (about 80% on average) voted against nuclear power centres and for the introduction of the responsibility of judges, and also for the abolition of ministers'impunity.