The Court of Cassation has given the green light to the referendum on nuclear power. The government decree of May 24, which effectively instituted a moratorium on the relaunch of nuclear energy in Italy, was useless. The government's intention was to postpone the construction of new nuclear plants (or the reopening of existing ones) to a couple of years, when public opinion would have 'soothed' the shock of the accident at the Japanese plant in Fukushima.
The central electoral office of the Cassation, by a majority, has specifically accepted the request of the Democratic Party to transfer the referendum questions on nuclear power to the new regulations contained in the Omnibus Decree. The request for repeal remains the same, but instead of applying to the previous law it will apply precisely to the new regulations on the production of nuclear energy (Article 5, paragraphs 1 and 8).
It remains to be seen how the problem of Italians abroad will be managed, given that the voting operations have already begun and the ballots distributed and voted contain the old question. On 12 and 13 June, Italians are called to the polls to vote on four referendums. Alongside the question on nuclear power, voters are asked to repeal the law on the 'legitimate impediment' of trials against members of the Executive and two regulations on private water management.
