In a democracy the results of a referendum have to be respected. The will of the people is sovereign. If that’s not the case, then there’s no democracy. Let the government make that declaration openly, then the citizens will know how to sort themselves out. The Italians have said NO to nuclear (for the SECOND time) and NO to the privatisation of water. If Monti reckons he can ignore the will of the voters it’s best that he goes straight back to “la Bocconi” university. If the French, Veolia and Suez, want our water by blackmailing us with the 500 billion Italian State bonds purchased by the French, the only possible response is that of Cambronne: “MERDE!”.

Father Alex Zanotelli defends the referendum from the government attacks:
”First of all I marvelled, I was amazed by the fact that a whole series of Under-secretaries and Ministers have happily been talking about privatising water, that is going against the referendum. In particular, I was struck by the statement of Polillo, the Under-secretary of the Economy who said that the referendum was a “mezzo imbroglio” {kind of mix-up}. But is it possible for 27 million people to be taken for a ride like this by an Under-secretary that should simply bow to the verdict of the Italian people? Thus I am really worried and then when I saw that the Government gave these declarations by Ministers etc., I can cite Clini, like the declarations of Catricalà, like so many other declarations, I’ve used the one by Polillo that is the most emblematic. But what has had the biggest impression on me is to see that a few days ago a decree started to circulate. It’s a decree that is likely to be approved, the decree that is the second phase of the Monti government’s "Cresci Italia" {Grow Italy} programme in which at article 20 there’s practically the prohibition on special companies from managing services like water and other things, which is the contrary of everything the referendum said. So how can a government like Monti’s go against the popular will of 27 million people? This truly injures me as a citizen and it gets me even more angry because then I understand that the Monti Government is going in accordance with the logic of the market and of the banks. I understand that the banks and the world of finance are very interested in water because in 30 years we will no longer have oil. The central problem will no longer be oil but water. With the overheating of the planet we will have ever fewer water sources, thus it will become the great blue gold. This is why they want to get their hands on water and thus I can understand the enormous pressure on the Monti government coming from Europe, from the water multinationals Veolia and Suez and everyone in the world of finance to tear up the referendum. Europe is afraid of contagion from the referendum on water. This is why a reaction is needed. I’m happy that, I already saw today that the government is starting to waiver on this issue and I truly hope that the parties vote against this article 20 and save the referendum. It’s the least that we can ask!”