A few more days of vacation, then normal activity will resume for the government and Parliament. And, at least by leafing through the list of the various open dossiers, a “challenging” autumn promises to be, as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni explained herself.
Maneuver and tax wedge
September marks the start of the preparation of the manoeuvre: by 27 September, in fact, the government must present the Nadef, or the update of the economic estimates indicated in the spring in the Def. By 15 October, the executive will have to send the Budgetary Planning Document to Brussels. Finally, by 20 October (even if it is not a peremptory deadline, given that in the past it has often been ‘overrun’) the government must dismiss the CDM and then transmit the actual budget bill to the Chambers. The government has already announced that the major resources will be allocated to confirming the cut in the tax wedge, considered a “priority”. According to initial estimates, the maneuver should be 25-30 billion, ten of which to be allocated precisely to confirming the cut of the wedge: the main issue, therefore, will be to find all the necessary resources.
Minimum salary
When work resumes, then, the spotlight will be on the opposition law proposal (with the exception of Italia viva) on the minimum wage. In fact, it will not be discussed again before the beginning of October (also in this case after the two-month suspension desired by the center-right and voted by the Chamber). Same time (60 days) indicated by the premier to attempt a shared solution on poor work and low wages, with the involvement of Cnel, to which the premier – after the summit at Palazzo Chigi with the leaders of the minority forces – entrusted the task to delve into the matter. In the meantime, the oppositions have launched a collection of signatures in support of the petition asking citizens to support the proposal for a minimum wage of 9 euros gross per hour (at the moment, the proponents announce, about 300,000 signatures have already been collected). .
Justice
In the autumn, Parliament will also begin to address the Nordio reform on justice: the bill was assigned to the Justice Commission of Palazzo Madama, but the process promises to be uphill, in the light of the controversies already aroused by the rules on the cancellation of the crime of abuse of office, the limits on the prosecutor’s power of appeal and the extension of the bans for journalists on the subject of interceptions. Still on the subject of justice, another dossier was the one on the statute of limitations. In Montecitorio, on the other hand, the process of the reform on the separation of the careers of magistrates could resume, on which there is pressure from Forza Italia but it is a text that does not find favor with all the political forces.
Autonomy and reforms
An uphill path also for differentiated autonomy, the examination of which started in the Senate but the oppositions – opposed to the reform – immediately gave battle, obtaining the hearing of the Committee appointed by Minister Calderoli on the Lep when work resumed (which in the meantime lost some pieces). Then he will get to the heart of the votes on the amendments. In the autumn, then, the minister Elisabetta Casellati should present the constitutional reform which aims, according to the forecasts, at the direct election of the prime minister. Text initially announced by the summer but then postponed. The direct election is clearly rejected by the opposition, with the exception of Italia viva: Matteo Renzi, surprisingly, presented a text by him before the summer break. Among the measures to be resumed in the autumn there is also the bill to make surrogacy a universal crime: a rule strongly desired by FdI, it received the go-ahead from the Chamber and now the final word will be up to the Senate. Finally, the Senate will also have to deal with another ‘delicate’ dossier: the establishment of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into Covid, with the changes to the text after the observations of the Head of State.
Extra profits and Mes
On the economic front, there are several dossiers that will have to be addressed between the executive and Parliament and on which there is no shortage of knots to solve, even within the majority: among the first measures is the Asset decree, approved by the CDM before the summer break and which contains the rule on the tax on the extra profits of the banks. A measure that does not convince Forza Italia, so much so that the deputy premier and secretary of the blue party, Antonio Tajani, immediately announced changes in Parliament, also complaining about the methods in which it was approved. On this point, however, both the premier and the other two majority parties, FdI and Lega, are determined to move forward. The provision was initially hinged on the Chamber, but then moved to the Senate, the branch from which the process will begin. Finally, the vexed question on the Mes: after the four-month suspension voted in July by the Chamber and desired by the majority, its ratification will be discussed again in November (Italy is the only Eurozone country to have not yet given the go-ahead to amend the so-called ‘State Salvage Fund’).
Migrants
Another issue on the government table, to be tackled quickly in light of the numerous landings that follow one another on our coasts, and above all in light of the alarm raised by the mayors, is that of migrants, with possible new rules on redistribution and reception.