The question posed to the voters
American, liberal, libertarian and free-market. These are the adjectives used by the Pannella-Reformers Club Movement to define the political project based on the new referendum To be proposed on June 15, 1997, exactly 29 years ago: in addition to the Radicals' historic hobbyhorses, one of the issues (7 in total, initially 20) up for vote concerned hunting. It concerned the abolition of hunters' ability to freely enter other people's land, essentially the same issue presented in 1990 that had failed to reach a quorum (stopping below 43%). The question Italians faced when they opened the ballot papers almost thirty years ago was the following: "Do you want to repeal Law No. 570 of July 25, 1966, containing Provisions on the Appointment of Magistrates of the Court of Appeal, and Law No. 831 of December 20, 1973, containing Amendments to the Judicial System for the Appointment of Magistrates of the Court of Cassation and for the Conferring of Higher Management Offices?".
An unusual referendum platform
Marco Pannella, who pushed for the referendum on hunting in particular, went beyond mere political debates. Indeed, the referendum platform on May 26, 1997, three weeks before the vote, remains historic. The historic platform, where the longtime leader of the Radical Party appeared dressed as a ghost to explain his reasons, was the one in which Pannella wore a white sheet that completely covered him, with the classic slits for his eyes and mouth. Making it even more picturesque was the sign he displayed on TV, which read: "GHOST of democracy, legality, referendums, reformers, information" (click here). here (to review the broadcast). Pannella was countered by Nello Adelmi, a historic figure in the Italian hunting world (he was national vice-president of the Federcaccia and president of the National Union of Italian Hunting Associations – UNAVI).
The election results
The "Yes" vote prevailed, and thus the Radicals' positions (80,9%), but it was nowhere near the quorum, remaining at 30,2% (even lower than seven years earlier). Lack of turnout was therefore the dominant factor, as voters likely found the proposed issues (privatizations, conscientious objection, judicial careers, the Association of Journalists, non-judicial assignments for magistrates, and the Ministry of Agricultural Policies) uninteresting.
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Lots of blank cards
The other numbers relating to the hunting referendum better illustrate Italians' thinking in that context: there were just under a million blank ballots (over 850 to be precise), an undoubtedly significant number, corresponding to nearly 6% of the total vote, while the invalid ballots were nearly 449 (3,03%). It's a story from almost thirty years ago, and today it seems older than it actually is, one of the many testimonies to Italians' thinking on the subject of hunting.
