In a referendum vote on Monday, 95 percent of Italians voted in favor of blocking a nuclear power revival in Italy. The vote comes less than a month after Germany announced it would phase out nuclear power over the next decade. Italians also voted against water privatization. James Walston, a professor at the American University of Rome, said the results of the referendums are a blow to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative government.

Professor James Walston, American University of Rome: “The major difference between the referendums and the local election is, of course, that for the referendums, the whole of Italy was able to vote, and if these results are confirmed, it means that 90 percent of about 57 percent of the electorate, means that more than half of the Italian electorate are in some way against Berlusconi, either very strongly or on specific issues. And this is damning for him. This is a very serious problem for him.”