Berlusconi trounced in Italy referendums

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ROME: Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi suffered a trouncing in referendums Monday that wiped out his plans to return Italy to nuclear power and dismissed a law designed to keep him out of court.

The results, following hard on disastrous local election results, have already provoked a growing unease from his supporters.

Final results showed crushing votes of more than 90 percent against the government in the four referendum questions: on nuclear power; on a law to give Berlusconi legal immunity; and two on water privatisation.

Official figures released early Tuesday by the interior ministry do not yet include votes cast by Italians living abroad.

But more than 94 percent of voters slammed the government's plans for brand new atomic power stations, which had been one of Berlusconi's flagship policies.

And nearly 95 percent voted to strip Berlusconi of special privileges accorded him as prime minister that exempted him from court appearances.

Berlusconi himself did not vote and the government had encouraged its supporters to stay away. But official data showed that nearly 56 percent of voters had turned out to have their say.

Acknowledging this late Monday, Berlusconi said: "The high turnout in the referendums shows a will on the part of citizens to participate in decisions about our future that cannot be ignored."

The level of turnout was crucial because without the participation of more than 50 percent of voters the referendums would have had no legal force.

The vote against Berlusconi's plans to resume a nuclear programme reflects popular unease about atomic energy in Europe after the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

And the rejection of the partial immunity law suggested voter's growing disenchantment with the 74-year-old prime minister's legal woes.

Berlusconi is a defendant in ongoing three trials involving allegations of bribery, fraud, abuse of power and paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl. (AFP)