Italian don't want nuclear plant

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has accepted the rejection of his nuclear power plans and other policies in a popular referendum.

With more than 90% opposition to his policies, he said Italians had made their opinion "clear" and government and parliament must "respond fully".

The PM had wanted to restart a nuclear programme abandoned in the 1980s.

Voters also repealed water privatisation and immunity from trial for government ministers.

Turnout was about 57%, a significant rise on participation in previous referendums - and a firm rejection of Mr Berlusconi's call for voters to boycott the referendum. Had turnout been less than 50%, the result would have been invalid.

More than 94% of voters opposed the government's plans to resume nuclear power generation, while 95% voted to strip Mr Berlusconi of special privileges in legal cases.

The high turnout showed "a will on the part of citizens to participate in decisions about our future that cannot be ignored", Mr Berlusconi said in a statement.

"The will of Italians is clear on all the subjects of this consultation," he added.

"The government and parliament must now respond fully."

After a series of referendums over the past 16 years which failed because they did not achieve minimum turnout, the centre-left opposition campaigned hard to get voters to the polling stations.

source: bbc