Gen Z's Impact on Politics: Rejecting PM Meloni's Reform in Italy

Generation Z, the youngest voters, voted against the reform more than any other age group, at 61.1 percent, according to a Consorzio Opinio exit poll for public broadcaster Rai based on 40,000 voters.

"It was wonderful to see how many Italians felt the need to defend the Constitution by going out to vote," said Valentina Alberti, a 24-year-old psychologist in Turin.

"I thought Meloni had a stronger influence. Turnout among people my age was very high. Many people around me stayed informed."

The constitutional reform sought to separate the role of judges and prosecutors and reform their oversight, in measures that Meloni's hard-right government said were essential for judicial impartiality.

The referendum mobilized Italians in large numbers, with a 55.7 percent turnout. But young people participated the most, at 67 percent, according to an Ipsos poll.

That was all the more surprising given that many students remain registered in their hometowns and are not eligible to vote by proxy or by mail when away from home.

Voters over 61 and those in southern Italy also tipped the referendum in favor of a "no" vote.

The reform, which was presented by the opposition as a vote on Meloni's leadership ahead of the 2027 general election.

Vittorio Gioda, a 24-year-old software developer in Turin, had planned to abstain but ultimately voted "No".

"The idea of the Constitution in the hands of people whom I consider inadequate or dangerous, like those currently in power, really scares me.

"This time, I felt like I could really make a difference by saying no."

In the week before the election, Meloni even appeared on a podcast hosted by rapper Fedez to try to convince young voters, a strategy that backfired, according to Gioda: "The intense pressure exerted by Meloni to push us to vote had the opposite effect."

Moreover, he said, given the tense geopolitical situation, many people, including his parents, saw a "No" vote as a way to show opposition to the government's policies beyond the justice system, specifically its closeness to US President Donald Trump.

Roman Federico Giorgetti, 25, said for young people his age it was "very difficult to get to the heart of the matter".

Giorgetti, a political science student who voted "Yes," cited the reform's technical aspects that made it confusing to many.

"The information circulating on Instagram is inherently polarizing; it tends to oversimplify, and the political class didn't make things any easier for us," he said.

Surveys show that priorities for most Italians involve stagnant purchasing power and low wages, rather than justice reform.

In the last parliamentary elections in late 2022, more young people stayed away from the polls.

Those who did vote tended to support the left, whether the Democratic Party, the Five Star Movement, or smaller parties.

About a quarter supported the hard-right parties that won the elections.

For Lorenzo de Sio, a professor of political science at Rome's Luiss university, the referendum results highlight the effect the economic crisis of the 2010s has had on Generation Z," as it has made life very precarious from a job perspective."

As a consequence, people under 30 have more clearly defined ideological affiliations than their parents, he explained during a press conference Tuesday in Rome..

On the other hand, millennials, who are aged 29 to 44, are more flexible, holding "left-wing views on some issues and right-wing views on others," while switching from party to party, de Sio said.

Millennials also mostly voted "No" but abstained at a much higher rate, according to Ipsos, at 47.5 percent, compared to nearly 33 percent for Generation Z.