The 2001 Italian expatriate vote: Was it worth it?

This study analyses the implementation of the Italian expatriate vote and representation introduced in 2001 in the external Electoral Colleges with special attention to the Electoral College known as Africa-Asia-Oceania-Antarctica college. The Italian elections of 2006, 2008 and 2013 have been important moments in expressing the expatriate vote.

This book examines the implementation and consequences of the Italian expatriate vote and representation introduced in 2001 in the external electoral colleges with special attention to the Electoral College known as Africa-Asia-Oceania-Antarctica. The Italian elections of 2006, 2008 and 2013 were important moments where the expatriate vote was expressed providing results which Italian lawmakers may have not anticipated. Moreover, the electoral expressions of the external colleges were not always in accord with Italians ones. This study examines how the stakeholders in the Africa-Asia-Oceania-Antarctica college understood and perceived this voting and representation facility after its implementation. What they thought in 2001 and what they think now. The study seeks the views of focus groups across numerous cities in Australia, interviews the protagonists and provides critical commentary on the future of this «right» and whether all this effort «was worth it» in providing Italians abroad with external voting and representation in elections and referendums.

Autorentext

Bruno Mascitelli is Associate Professor at Swinburne University of Technology. Before joining academia, Mascitelli worked for Austrade (Australian Trade Commission) in Italy for over 17 years. He completed his PhD at Melbourne University in 2005. He has co-authored with Simone Battiston The Italian expatriate vote in Australia (2008) and Il Globo: 50 years of an Italian newspaper in Australia. His research interests include Italian-Australian Studies, Italian politics and International business. Rory Steele graduated from Oxford University with a BA in Modern Languages. He joined the Australian Diplomatic Service in 1969 and served overseas in Accra (Ghana), Seoul (South Korea), Cairo (Egypt), and Geneva (Switzerland). He was Australian Ambassador to Iraq from 1986 to 1988, and subsequently Assistant Secretary, Strategic Assessments Branch, in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He served as Australian Ambassador to Italy from 1997 to 2001. Simone Battiston is the Cassamarca Senior Lecturer in Italian at Swinburne University of Technology. Battiston came to Australia in 2000. He is a history graduate from the University of Trieste (Italy). He completed his PhD in Italian Migration Studies at La Trobe University in 2004. He has published widely on the issue of Italian expatriate voting and he has co-authored along with Bruno Mascitelli The Italian expatriate vote in Australia (2008). His research interests include Italian-Australian Studies, labour history and migration and trade.

Inhalt
Contents:Introduction: Migration, Homeland and Host Land Engagement Enfranchising Citizens Abroad Italian Expatriate Voting: The Australian Experience Views from the Focus Groups: Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne An interview with MP Marco Fedi Interviews with Former Candidates Joe Caputo, Luigi Casagrande, Joe Cossari, and Teresa Todaro Restifa.