A bumpy ride. Between tensions and last minute blitz. But in the end the fourth budget law of the Meloni government crosses the first milestone, the most important one given that changes will now be unlikely. The majority regroups after the League’s position.
The League dictates the limits on pensions
Which foils the increase in the retirement age, but swallows the stop to another of its own proposals, the accumulation to bring early retirement. The government is currently correcting the ongoing mess regarding resources for businesses, which were first removed and ended up in a decree and then re-proposed. The Northern League Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti puts his face to it and denies having thought about resigning.
La Russa’s thanks and the last day in the commission
And to crown the result, the President of the Senate Ignazio La Russa appears in the commission to thank everyone, the majority and the opposition. The last day of commission work at Palazzo Madama begins early in the morning. The new amendment which reintroduces the measures for businesses into the budget, which less than 24 hours earlier it had been decided to transfer into an ad hoc decree, arrives in commission.
Businesses, ZES and the new blow to social security
There are, as expected, the resources for Transition 5.0, Zes and expensive materials, but a new blow to social security is also appearing. The possibility of retiring early by accumulating pension fund amounts is cancelled.
The squeeze on pensions and accusations of political “punishment”.
A rule strongly supported by the League, so much so that some slandered it as a “punishment” for Salvini’s hard line, which forced Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to personally take to the field to close ranks. On the social security front, funds for the early retirement of premature and over-the-top workers have been further cut and the number of companies required to provide severance pay to INPS has expanded. “The government is targeting workers”, denounce the opposition.
The criticisms of the opposition and the Northern League’s response
«It’s the worst maneuver in recent years», the Dem leader Elly Schlein is clear: «Meloni is cashing in on pensions». However, the League does not give up: «Accumulability is an experiment that we would like to continue, we will make an ad hoc rule», says Claudio Borghi.
Borghi, Giorgetti and the resource hub
Who then jokes about a head injury: “I got a docker.” Party sources on Via Bellerio voice their “satisfaction”: 3 billion more for businesses, for the Strait Bridge and the Housing Plan, “without increasing the retirement age”.
Even if in reality the resources for the housing plan are reduced by 90 million over the two-year period compared to what was initially envisaged. The economy minister dismisses the issue: the rule on accumulation “we introduced it last year and it doesn’t seem to interest anyone”, says Giorgetti.
The pressure on Giorgetti and the joke about his resignation
Who shows up unexpectedly at the commission in the morning. Second time in a week. There is pressure on him from the opposition after tensions in the majority over his party’s position.
“I’m interested in the final product: we work for the good of the country,” he tells reporters who ask him if he has thought about resigning in recent days. «I think about resigning every morning, it would be the best thing to do…», he jokes: but since I’m on my twenty-ninth maneuver, «I know how things work», he ends the controversy. The day proceeds slowly. Between suspensions and restarts.
The pardon case and the risk of obstructionism
There are some moments of tension. When the bulk seems to be done, a new amendment appears which reopens the 2003 amnesty. The opposition goes on the attack and the work is suspended: it is forced – the Pd, M5s, IV and Avs denounce – to withdraw or it will be obstructionism.
FdI’s step backwards and the easing climate
The group leader of FdI at Palazzo Madama Lucio Malan rushes into the commission and after a while the backtrack takes shape: «The amendment will be transformed into the agenda», he announces. They withdrew it, the opposition corrected it: “We foiled a blitz.”
The tension is also felt among the ranks of the centre-right, with a spat in the commission between the president of FdI Nicola Calandrini and the always active senator of FI Claudio Lotito. Who insists on two amendments, but then settles for an agenda.
The final curtain and the green light for the maneuver
In the evening, the president of the Senate La Russa also arrives at the commission. An unusual visit, to “thank – he explains – the majority and the opposition”.
When he enters the commission after the vote, he also talks about a brief exchange with FI senator Maurizio Gasparri: “Who are you?” asks the blue man; “I’m the one who started with the MSI and then forgot about it,” replies the second-ranking state official. The atmosphere has calmed down. The maneuver receives the green light from the commission and will arrive in the Chamber on Monday.