«The victory of the No vote in the referendum represents a strong and clear signal: civil society is alive, attentive and ready to mobilize when fundamental principles are at stake. It was a conscious choice, in defense of the Constitution and the balance of the institutions. It is not a refusal to change, but to a method. Justice needs serious reforms, capable of reducing trial times and improving their functioning, guaranteeing efficiency without sacrificing guarantees. Reforms are necessary, but they must be constructed with responsibility and respect for rights.”
Thus the Naples prosecutor Nicola Gratteri comments on the outcome of the referendum on justice, speaking in the aftermath of the No victory. A clear stance, which comes after weeks in which the magistrate had been at the center of political and public confrontation for some statements favorable to the No front.
Gratteri’s words after the vote
In the words of the prosecutor there is the reading of a vote which, in his opinion, should not be interpreted as a prejudicial closure with respect to the reforms, but as a request for greater balance. In fact, Gratteri underlines the need for interventions capable of making the judicial system more efficient, reducing trial times and improving its functioning, but without compressing guarantees and rights.
The magistrate therefore insists on a precise concept: reforms are necessary, but they must be constructed with responsibility, keeping efficiency and constitutional protections together. A passage that is part of the debate that opened around the referendum questions and which, in the last weeks of the campaign, had also sparked controversy with the Yes supporters.
In Gerace clear affirmation of No
Meanwhile, in Gerace, the birthplace of the current prosecutor of Naples, the result of the polls delivered a clear affirmation of the No. In the center of Reggio Emilia, which has just over 2,000 inhabitants, 51.62% of those entitled to vote went to the polls.
At the end of the vote, the No obtained 67.38% of the votes, while the Yes stopped at 32.62%. A figure that also takes on a symbolic value, because it comes from the community of origin of Gratteri, one of the most exposed protagonists of the public debate on the referendum.
Gerace’s result, in terms of size and percentages, thus fits into the broader framework of the No affirmation, but takes on particular weight due to the direct link with the figure of the prosecutor, who ended up at the center of criticism from the Yes front during the referendum campaign precisely because of his positions expressed in defense of the No reasons.