Why “referendum” is being discussed
The most recent Hacker News stories and comments contributing to this topic's mentions.
I feel like I am not good at anticipating election results, but anyway, the people arguing that the midterms will be a referendum on the economy make sense to me. Expensive gas…
by maxerickson · Sep 1, 2026
The EU has never been a democratic entity, As a French, I still remember the so-called "2005 French European Constitution referendum (Do you approve the bill authorising the rat…
by soueuls · Sep 1, 2026
> However the idea of it being "advisory" was itself exploited, and used to make people think that Brexit would't happen anyway, even if the vote was to leave. It could be argue…
by bArray · Aug 31, 2026
> Indeed go ask anybody in China, India, North-Africa, or Eastern Europe. I've had pretty good time in "Eastern" (Central) Europe, so did my wife in China. People were still opt…
by Markoff · Aug 31, 2026
That can only be true for a definition of 'elite' that excludes the Eton and Oxford educated Prime Minister of the day and the majority of his government. So I mean, yeah, some…
by foldr · Aug 31, 2026
Irrelevant. Here in Italy for example they never held power, but they did a huge lobbying and advertising campaign just AFTER Chernobyl that lead to a referendum whose result es…
by znpy · Aug 31, 2026
Interest
Proportion of Hacker News items mentioning "referendum" over time.
Mentions
Total number of Hacker News items mentioning "referendum" over time.
A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding, resulting in the adoption of a new policy, or consultive, functioning like a large opinion poll. Read more on Wikipedia