1974 Italian divorce referendum

The nationwide Italian referendum on the right to divorce was held on the 12 May, 1974. Voters were asked whether they wanted to abolish a government law passed 3 years earlier allowing divorce for the first time in Italian history. Those voting "yes" wanted to outlaw divorce as it had been before the law came into effect, and those voting "no" wanted to retain the law and their newly gained right to divorce.

The referendum was won by the Nays (NO's), 59.3% against 40.7% Ayes (YES's), with a voter turnout of 87.7% out of 37 million elegible Italian electors.

The legislative right to a divorce thereby remained legal in Italy, and still is to this day.

This vote was the first of its kind in the country, being the first regular legislative referendum held by the Italian Republic 27 years after the italian constitution (which allowed referenda) was approved.

Initial petitions

Signatures and petitions for the referendum were collected by Christian groups lead by Gabrio Lombardo with very strong support from the Vatican and the catholic church.

Political party positions

The Christian Democracy and the neo fascist Italian Social Movement intensely campaigned for a Aye ("YES") vote to abolish the law and make divorce illegal again. Their main themes were the safeguarding of the traditional nuclear family model and the "think of the children" argument.

Most left-wing political forces, the main ones being the Italian Socialist Party and the Italian Communist Party, supported the Nay ("NO") faction.

Intense campaigning for a "NO" vote also came from Marco Pannella of the Italian Radical Party which had been petitioning for a right to divorce in Italy since the early 1960's.

Confusion in voting methods

The voting method caused significant confusion with many people not understanding that they had to vote "NO" to to able to divorce or vote "YES" to outlaw divorce. Some campaigners from the "NO" camp stated without this confusion the "NO" vote might have even been higher than the 59% obtained.

Censorship on television

The eurovision song contest held in April 1974 was non transmitted on the italian state television chennal RAI because of a song sung by Gigliola Cinquetti.

Despite winning second place in the contest, italian censors felt her song which was titled "Sì" (meaning YES) which contained [lyrics] constantly repeating the word "SI" (yes) could be accused of being a subliminal message and a form of propoganda to influence the Italian voting public to vote "YES" in the referendum. The song remained consored on most italian state TV and radio stations for over a month.

Effects

The referendum was considered a major victory for the civil rights and anti-clericalism movements, and for the Italian radicals.

See also

• Referendum in Italy
• Sì (song)