By James Mackenzie, Philip Pullella
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi headed for a heavy defeat on Monday in four referendums after Italians turned out in large numbers for a vote he had urged them to boycott.
The proposals to repeal Berlusconi-era legislation on nuclear power, water privatisation and trial immunity for government ministers had been opposed by the prime minister, who declared that he would not cast a vote.
The referendums needed a quorum of more than 50 percent to be valid and looked set to meet the target easily. With supporters of the proposals considered far more likely to turn out to vote, they are expected to pass overwhelmingly.
According to figures from the Interior Ministry, turnout was running at 57 percent with some 98 percent of the vote counted, a huge turnaround from the lacklustre participation in previous referendums.
Berlusconi, facing mounting problems since heavy local election losses last month, appeared to concede defeat at least in the nuclear referendum when he told a news conference the vote had probably ended prospects for atomic energy in Italy.
"Following the decision the Italian people are taking at this moment, we must probably say goodbye to the possibility of nuclear power stations and we must strongly commit ourselves to renewable energy," he said.
The vote could not have come at a worse time for the 74-year-old premier, who faces a sex scandal and three fraud trials and who 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.
After what he called "an extraordinary day," Pierluigi Bersani, leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, called for Berlusconi to resign.
"The government and Berlusconi really have to reflect on this. After the local elections and now the referendums, it would be irresponsible for them not to," he said.
DIVISIONS
Roberto Maroni, a senior minister from Berlusconi's increasingly impatient coalition partners the Northern League, said the government was running out of steam and needed to relaunch an ambitious reform programme very soon.
"I think Berlusconi is still capable of winning a much higher degree of consensus than he has so far but this is the last test," he told the daily Corriere della Sera.
A stagnant economy, one of the world's highest levels of public debt and 30 percent youth unemployment are among the problems facing a government riven by divisions over issues ranging from tax to the NATO campaign in Libya.
Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti, widely credited with shielding Italy from the financial market crisis, has insisted on rigid budget discipline but faces growing opposition from cabinet colleagues alarmed that the policy is electoral poison.
A confidence vote in parliament on June 22, intended to test the government's majority after a reshuffle last month, will be the next marker of whether Berlusconi has the support to see out his term until its scheduled end in 2013.
"Berlusconi has to show he is brave and launch an ambitious programme for the next two years. He should do it now, on June 22 in parliament," said Interior Minister Maroni, whose party's support is vital for the government's majority.
With speculation growing that cabinet divisions may bring down the government before 2013, Monday's referendum provides a snapshot of the electorate's mood.
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. However polls say most Italians oppose building nuclear power stations, which they consider unsafe in a country prone to earthquakes.
Aware of the likely backlash following the disaster at Japan's Fukushima reactor in March, the government had suspended its nuclear plans but a referendum could block them for decades.
Another referendum would repeal the so-called "legitimate impediment" that allows ministers to skip trial hearings against them if they are on government business, which 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.
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions