Meloni government implicated in spyware scandal, claims victory in referendum failure

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni experienced a significant setback followed by a major victory within the span of a week.

The setback originated from a parliamentary inquiry into the Israeli spyware, Graphite. The parliamentary committee confirmed that the government had utilized this spyware, developed by the offensive cyber company Paragon, to hack the smartphones of several activists working with migrants.

The committee verified that Paragon supplied Graphite to two Italian institutions, including the country’s foreign intelligence service, starting in 2023. According to the report, the version of Graphite provided did not include the capability to activate a phone’s microphone or camera. Instead, it allowed operators to access encrypted communications on the hacked devices.

The report also confirmed that Graphite exploited a vulnerability in WhatsApp, which Meta detected and fixed in December 2024, just one month before the spyware’s activities were publicly disclosed. A recent report on Israeli television revealed that the discovery of this vulnerability caused panic within Unit 8200, Israel’s military intelligence unit.

Government’s use of Israeli spyware confirmed

The Italian committee also confirmed Meta’s claim that the phones of several activists involved in migrant rights in Italy had been hacked. These activists included Luca Casarini, Giuseppe Caccia, and David Yambio. However, in Yambio’s case, the hacking was carried out by another, unnamed spyware, not Graphite.

According to the committee’s final report, the phone of investigative journalist Francesco Cancellato, known for his criticism of the country’s ruling party, was not hacked by Italian intelligence agencies. The report stated that these activists were legally monitored and that the use of spyware against them was coordinated with the relevant legal authorities in Italy.

Nevertheless, the committee recommended improving the oversight mechanisms that regulate the use of spyware in the country. It also emphasized that Casarini and Caccia were targeted in operations initiated by previous governments before Giorgia Meloni came to power.

Israeli company halts Italian intelligence access

Paragon developed the Graphite spyware, which has been sold to intelligence and law enforcement agencies in Israel, Europe, the US, and Singapore. In January, WhatsApp announced it had detected that approximately 100 user accounts were hacked using Paragon’s spyware.

The list of potential targets included civil society activists and an Italian investigative journalist who had exposed links between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party and neo-fascist movements.

Unlike Israel’s more famous spyware manufacturer, NSO, Paragon promotes itself as a “clean and responsible” company committed to human rights. This was the first time it faced backlash over allegations of misuse of its spyware, which allows states to access encrypted devices.

After Meta announced the WhatsApp hack, Paragon cut off the Italian intelligence agency’s access to its systems until the results of the ongoing parliamentary commission inquiry in Rome were released. According to a recent report by the Israeli television program Zman Emet (Real Time), Italian officials were so angered by Paragon’s decision that the Italian prime minister reportedly called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to demand an explanation.

Referendum boycott proves effective

Italy’s attempt to repeal significant labor and citizenship laws through five national referendums failed due to low turnout, which remained at 30%. This participation rate was well below the 50% required for the results to be valid.

According to the Italian Ministry of the Interior, approximately 30% of eligible voters participated in the two-day referendum, which aimed, among other things, to halve the time migrants must live in Italy before they can apply for citizenship.

Although polling was open on Sunday and Monday (June 8-9) until 3:00 PM, turnout never approached the constitutional threshold. The referendums—four concerning the protection of workers’ rights and one on reducing the residency requirement for non-EU citizens applying for Italian citizenship from 10 to 5 years—were declared invalid due to insufficient participation.

The referendum, supported by the left-wing opposition and activist groups, sought to repeal a 1992 law that had increased the residency requirement for non-EU foreigners from 5 to 10 years. Had the referendum succeeded, 2.5 million foreign migrants who have lived in Italy for five years or more would have been immediately eligible to apply for citizenship.

Among those who did vote, support for the “Yes” campaign was overwhelming: about 80% supported the changes to labor laws, while approximately 65% backed the citizenship proposal. However, because the quorum was not met, the results have no legal standing.

The referendum campaign began amid heated debates following Italy’s Olympic gold medal win last year with a women’s volleyball team composed of daughters of African immigrants.

Opposition blames government as ruling party declares victory

The opposition parties, which largely supported the referendums, accused the government of deliberately suppressing turnout by calling for a boycott, thereby discouraging voters from going to the polls. Forza Italia was particularly active in this tactic, drawing criticism for a social media post urging voters to “go to the beach” instead of the ballot box.

As soon as the failure was certain, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party, Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy), went on the offensive. The party shared an image of opposition leaders with the caption “You lost,” claiming the referendums were a veiled attempt to weaken the government.

Government officials framed the result as a broader endorsement of the status quo. Deputy Prime Minister Giovanbattista Fazzolari stated, “The opposition tried to turn the five referendums into a vote against the Meloni government. The result is clear: the government has emerged stronger, and the left weaker.”

Once it became clear the referendum would not reach a quorum, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini announced that his Lega party would push for stricter laws to make naturalization even more difficult. “Citizenship is not a gift,” Salvini said in a statement. “We want stricter and tougher rules to become an Italian citizen. A few more years of residence is not enough.”

In response, Pina Picierno, a Democratic Party deputy and Vice President of the European Parliament, described the outcome as a “deep, serious, and avoidable defeat.” She warned her own side against “political myopia,” adding, “Outside our bubble, there is a country that wants a future, not a settling of old scores.”

Italy’s state broadcaster, Rai, and other mainstream media outlets and newspapers almost completely censored coverage of the referendum. On the Sunday of the vote, the national newspaper headlines barely mentioned it.

Calls for reform from both sides

While the vote exposed Italy’s deep-seated political divisions, it also revealed a rare point of consensus: the current referendum system is facing increasing criticism. Representatives from both the government and the opposition have openly called for its reform, albeit for very different reasons.

Antonio Tajani, leader of Forza Italia and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, argued that issues put to a referendum should require more signatures and questioned the cost of the current system. “Perhaps the time has come to revise the law,” Tajani said. “Considering the money spent, for example, on the hundreds of thousands, even millions, of ballots sent abroad and returned blank, the signature threshold may need to be raised.”

These remarks drew sharp criticism from referendum supporters. Riccardo Magi, leader of +Europa and chairman of the citizenship referendum committee, called Tajani’s comments “literally shameful,” noting that the government showed no concern for the “much more expensive and scandal-ridden detention centers in Albania.”

“It is dangerous to play with public disillusionment,” Magi warned, announcing he would propose a constitutional amendment to abolish the turnout requirement.