Proposals from Ms Meloni’s government, which included splitting the currently unified careers of judges and public prosecutors, were defeated with around 46 per cent in favour and 54 per cent opposed, on a relatively high turnout of 59 per cent.

Judges and public prosecutors are both regarded as “magistrates” in the Italian system, and it is theoretically possible for individuals to switch between the roles, though this is rare and a law passed in 2022 restricted this to once during the course of a career.

The constitutional changes would have fully separated the career paths and split the self-governing body of magistrates, the Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura (CSM), into two bodies for judges and public prosecutors respectively.

Changes to the make-up and function of the CSM proved the most controversial proposals, in particular the replacement of elections among judges and prosecutors with a system of sortition to select its membership as well as the creation of a new disciplinary court for judges.

Some critics warned that the proposals would give the government greater influence over the judiciary and could pave the way for Polish-style democratic backsliding.

In a post on X, Ms Meloni said: “The Italians have decided. And we respect this decision.

“We will move forward, as we have always done, with responsibility, determination, and respect for the Italian people and for Italy.”