Brussels – Labour market reform, yes, but “no” to raising the retirement age. Italians “dictate” the agenda to the government, and warn the majority parties. The prescription by Italian men and women comes from Eurobarometer, a survey conducted to ascertain how EU citizens feel about the single currency, which also includes questions on other topics. This includes the retirement age, in fact, and for Italians, this is no laughing matter.
“Should the retirement age be raised to enable the financial sustainability of the pension system?” More than eight out of ten Italians (82 per cent) answered “no” to this question. Only in Latvia (88 per cent) and Greece (87 per cent) is the rate of opposition to the idea higher than in Italy. Clear message for the ruling parties, who also have to reckon with a figure in the data: in October 2024, Italians in favour of raising the retirement age accounted for 20 per cent of respondents; now, down to 17 per cent (-3 per cent).
Sustainability of the INPS (National Social Security Institute), therefore, is not to be achieved through a longer working life but through reforms of another kind. Speaking of reforms: a large proportion of Italians agree with the need to make them (88 per cent), and practically all (99 per cent) indicate the labour market as the priority area for intervention. An area, this one, closely linked to the age of exit from the labour market. Priority number two: health, indicated as important by 97 per cent of the respondents. The Italians tell the government to work on two matters of purely national competence. Although, on closer inspection, the Italians’ pronouncement is also a slap in the face for the European Commission, which has long suggested working longer.
For Meloni and allies, this is not the end of the story. At a time of increasing expenditure on new priorities such as defence—meaning, for Italy, placing an even greater burden on future generations and the future—the invitation to the national political class is “save more today to prepare public finances for an ageing population.” Almost three out of four Italians (72 per cent) say this. We need to think about tomorrow’s pensions and care, in essence. It is not surprising that strengthening INPS and the national health system is on the agenda of the men and women of Italy.
