Poll: the majority of Italians are in favour of compulsory conscription
Out of a hundred replies, 59 agreed to the restoration of a compulsory civil defence-type conscription in Italy, with only a small voluntary quota of young people doing armed service
Key points
Italians would welcome the return of compulsory military conscription. The message comes from a survey by the Remtene research institute, developed through telephone interviews with one thousand people, carried out from 3 to 6 November. The results were published on 28 November on the Council Presidency website dedicated to this type of survey. Question: 'Compulsory military service has been suspended for about 20 years, can you tell us whether you agree or disagree with this statement that we have heard from others? "Compulsory military service used to give citizens a sense of citizenship and nationhood that is no longer there today". Out of one hundred answers, 28 answered "very much"; 34 "quite a lot". Disagreeing 'not at all' in 19, while 14 agreed 'not very much'.
Civil defence type compulsory service, with a small quota of volunteers for armed service
Again: 'Can you tell us whether you agree or disagree with this statement that we have heard from others? "Do you agree or disagree with restoring a compulsory civil defence type conscription in Italy, with only a small voluntary quota of young people doing armed service?". Out of one hundred answers, 59 agreed (24 'very' and 35 'quite').
Openness to young boys and girls
Question: 'Can you tell us whether you agree or disagree with this statement that we have heard from others? "If compulsory voluntary military or civil defence service were to be reinstated, both young boys and young girls should participate"". Here too, a position in favour emerges, with 33 people answering 'very', 31 'quite'. There are 16 'a little', 12 answered 'not at all'.
