Italian voters say no to nuclear
Source: Agencies |
June 14, 2011, Tuesday
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ITALIAN voters dealt Premier Silvio Berlusconi a serious political blow, overturning laws passed by his government to revive nuclear energy, privatize the water supply and help him avoid prosecution, partial results showed yesterday.
Even before the polls closed, Berlusconi conceded that Italy would probably have to give up plans to return to nuclear energy and instead focus on renewable energy.
"Italy, following the decision that the Italian people are taking in these hours, probably will have to bid farewell to the question of nuclear power plants," Berlusconi said at a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Partial results yesterday showed clear majorities choosing to throw out the water privatization law, kill a law reviving nuclear energy and undo legislation offering the Italian leader a partial legal shield in criminal prosecutions.
It is the second time Italians have said no to nuclear energy in a referendum. The first was in 1987, after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and this time the images of the nuclear disaster in Japan weighed heavily in voters' minds.
The Italian referendum on nuclear energy comes just weeks after Germany announced plans to abandon its nuclear program by 2022, in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster. It also comes two weeks after Berlusconi's candidates lost local elections in such key cities as his stronghold Milan and trash-choked Naples.
Berlusconi and many of his allies abstained from voting on the ballot questions that were direct challenges to both Berlusconi's policies and his legal tactics in criminal cases in Milan.
Even before the polls closed, Berlusconi conceded that Italy would probably have to give up plans to return to nuclear energy and instead focus on renewable energy.
"Italy, following the decision that the Italian people are taking in these hours, probably will have to bid farewell to the question of nuclear power plants," Berlusconi said at a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Partial results yesterday showed clear majorities choosing to throw out the water privatization law, kill a law reviving nuclear energy and undo legislation offering the Italian leader a partial legal shield in criminal prosecutions.
It is the second time Italians have said no to nuclear energy in a referendum. The first was in 1987, after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and this time the images of the nuclear disaster in Japan weighed heavily in voters' minds.
The Italian referendum on nuclear energy comes just weeks after Germany announced plans to abandon its nuclear program by 2022, in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster. It also comes two weeks after Berlusconi's candidates lost local elections in such key cities as his stronghold Milan and trash-choked Naples.
Berlusconi and many of his allies abstained from voting on the ballot questions that were direct challenges to both Berlusconi's policies and his legal tactics in criminal cases in Milan.
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