Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi suffered a humiliating defeat today as Italians turned out in large numbers to vote in referendums that he had encouraged them to boycott.
The proposals to repeal Berlusconi-era legislation on nuclear power, water privatisation and trial immunity for government ministers were backed by opposition parties and opposed by the centre-right.
Interior Ministry figures put the turnout at 57 per cent, a huge change from the lacklustre participation in previous referendums, and 95 per cent of the votes counted backed the motions.
Mr Berlusconi, still reeling from crushing local election defeats last month, had declared he would not cast a vote, but the unusually high turnout dashed any hope he may have had that the necessary quorum of 50 per cent would not be reached.
He said in a statement that the government would accept the "clear" result of the vote. "The government and parliament now have the duty to fully accept the result of the four referendums," he said.
Mr Berlusconi said the vote had probably ended any prospect of using atomic energy in Italy.
The referendums needed a turnout of more than 50 per cent to be valid and met the target easily. Supporters of the proposals had been considered far more likely than opponents to vote.
The referendums could not have come at a worse time for the 74-year-old premier, who faces a sex scandal and three fraud trials and was weakened by crushing losses in last month's local elections, including in his northern power base, Milan.
The centre-left opposition campaigned hard to get voters to the polling stations. The last referendum to reach a quorum was in 1995. Six have been declared void since then.
Pierluigi Bersani, leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, said it had been "an extraordinary day" and repeated a call for Mr Berlusconi to resign.
More ominously for the ruling centre-right, Mr Berlusconi's coalition allies in the Northern League appeared to be losing patience after weeks of acrimony, raising the possibility of a split that could cost the government its majority.
With speculation growing that cabinet divisions may bring down the government before the 2013 elections, the referendum provided a sharp snapshot of the electorate's mood.
Mr Berlusconi has been a major supporter of atomic power, which the centre right says is indispensable for the future of a country that imports nearly all its energy.
Aware of the likely backlash after the disaster at Japan's Fukushima reactor in March, the government had suspended its nuclear plans but a referendum could block them for decades.
One referendum repealed the "legitimate impediment" that allows ministers to skip trial hearings against them if they are on government business, which Mr Berlusconi's critics say is for his personal benefit by possibly delaying his four concurrent trials.
Two others concerned the privatisation of water utilities. The government says privatisation is essential to finance better services while opponents say it would lead to higher prices.
Reuters