Italy, preparing the budget: the “beautiful” summit becomes a duel

Rome – A “nice” summit of government (lasting three hours) and a “fruitful work”, both marked, according to Matteo Salvini, the  last night meeting at Palazzo Chigi between the President of the Council, Giuseppe Conte, his two vice premieres, the same Minister of the Interior and Luigi Di Maio, the Minister of the Economy, Giovanni Tria, that of the European Affairs, Paolo Savona, and the technicians Lega-Cinquestelle, dedicated to the next Italian budget.

Yet something must have gone wrong. Judging by what concordant sources says, it was enough to turn the summit into a duel with the Minister of Economy Tria at the center. The most disappointed was the pentastellato vicepremier Di Maio. Too many budget constraints that would have claimed the holder of via XX Settembre in order to easily reach the income of citizenship; too many and different stakes placed by the League ally who did not go down. The perplexities of the Salvinians on the recipes of the economic policy of the Grillines, moreover, are known. Yesterday and even today, the economic adviser in pectore of Salvini, Alberto Brambilla, reiterated: the solutions imagined by Cinquestelle cost too much: “Citizenship pensions – explains to Corriere della Sera – would cost too much, would be paid by the younger generation and destroy the welfare state “.

In the ‘everyone against everyone’ staged yesterday evening at Palazzo Chigi, there were no shortage of reaction from the grillini that yesterday afternoon had served a starter poisoned to Salvini about fiscal peace. “The Cinquestelle Movement will never vote for an amnesty,” Di Maio had said, extinguishing the dreams of glory of the Northern League leader. After the summit, the deputy premier had dinner with the staff of the Movement. The intention is not to exceed 3% but, if necessary, from 5 stars there is a strong pressure to go even beyond 1.6% as extrema ratio.

Yet according to official statements released immediately after the summit, the meeting was “useful and profitable – said Salvini – to grow the Italian economy (without Renzi’s gifts) respecting the commitments made with everyone starting from those with Italians, on taxes, pensions, income of citizenship and more jobs “.

“The choices on the budget law – the Minister of Labor and Development, Luigi Di Maio, had echoed – must be courageous and must be in the interests of the citizens. My position is firm: all the waste, all the dry branches must be cut, as must those resources which, to date, go in the wrong direction must be recovered. The Italians expect so much from us and we will not disappoint them, because we will also be ready to make courageous choices “.

The formalization of the official and (alleged?) “Full agreement” between the parties had arrived from the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte at the end of the meeting of Palazzo Chigi. “During the summit today there was a deepening of the main components of the next budget law. In particular, we focused on the analysis of waste to be cut in order to redevelop public spending and on the possibility of a revival of growth through the qualifying points of the government contract: flat tax, citizenship income, exceeding the Fornero law and a organic picture of cuts to unproductive expenditure “.