It is legitimate and permitted to criticize the Bari kermesse (monopolized by FdI) to celebrate the Meloni's government's record longevityVoters will judge the appropriateness of this. What seems unacceptable to me is the comment made by the opposition and relaunched by the regime media (there's only one: the left-leaning one that considers the current majority a handful of usurpers), namely that the government's longevity was due to inaction. The accusation is "they had the votes to do everything, but they achieved nothing"; which – at the very least – doesn't explain the other version of events, namely that this executive has only caused damage to the point of leave Italy in its underwear and Italians in povertySince I consider this judgment unfair—despite being critical of certain policies pursued by the government—I will try to demonstrate, at least in some respects, its groundlessness, without resorting to personal opinions and considerations, but by compiling an anthology of the opinions, expressed ex cathedra, of international and national institutions that are usually credited with objectivity and impartiality.
Public accounts
The Italian economy faces the deteriorating international environment from a position of increased public finances. The prudence that has characterized fiscal policy in recent years has strengthened the country's ability to absorb external shocks, improving its credit standing. sovereign credit and containing the perception of risk in the markets. However, the context is fragile due to the international geopolitical scenario, public debt remains high, and fiscal margins to address external shocks and new priorities remain modest. Numerous issues remain unresolved in the Italian economic system. These must be addressed to combine stability with new and necessary levers of growth (UPB, June 10, 2026).
The deficit will decrease from 2023
In the 2023 Italian public deficit It remained at high levels, around 7,2% of GDP, also strongly influenced by the aftermath of construction bonuses. 2024: There was a strong acceleration in the recovery, with the deficit falling to 3,4% of GDP (a better figure than the government's initial forecasts). 2025-2026: The downward trend continues, bringing the deficit to around 3,1% in 2025 and approaching or falling below the 3% threshold set by the European Stability Pact during 2026. (OECD).
La budgetary discipline It is not a simple bureaucratic exercise or an external constraint imposed by Europe, but the only real barrier to state intrusion into the economy and the indispensable basis for generating healthy and sustainable economic growth. (Bruno Leoni Institute)
Business
Il Italian GDP It is expected to grow by 0,7% in both 2026 and 2027, after having increased by 0,5% in 2025. The increase in GDP, in the two-year forecast period, is expected to be entirely supported by domestic demand net of inventories (+0,9 and +0,5 percentage points respectively); net foreign demand, negatively affected by the effects of the conflict in the Middle East and the resulting increase in energy prices, is expected to provide a negative contribution in 2026 (-0,2 percentage points) and zero in 2027 (Istat).
In June 2026 the Italy's exports – that is, sales of Italian goods abroad – recorded a 1,6% increase compared to the previous month. According to the trend trend (year-on-year), exports rose by 9,8% in value, while in volume – that is, net of the price effect, considering the quantities actually traded – the increase was 5,1%. (Istat). Despite the tariffs (ed).
The Italian economy has shown signs of solidity and growth above the euro area average since 2019, but remains hampered by structural weaknesses and geopolitical uncertainties. Since 2019, Italian GDP has grown by over 6%, aligned with the eurozone average and strong thanks to public investments (NRRP) and exports (Fabio Panetta).
Occupation
In July 2026 the number of employed, equal to 24,370,000, is stable compared to the previous month. The growth in permanent employees (16,583,000) and self-employed workers (5,301,000) is offset by the decline in fixed-term employees (2,486,000). The increase in employment compared to July 2025 (307,000 employed in one year) is a result of the increase in permanent employees (+303,000) and self-employed workers (+85,000) and the decrease in fixed-term employees (-82,000). On a monthly basis, the employment and inactivity rates remain stable at 63,2% and 32,8%, respectively, and the unemployment rate drops to 5,8% (Istat July 2026).
The cumulative change in absolute values of employed people from the beginning of 2023 to today (provisional data for July 2026) is approximately +1.076.000 employed people. The entire increase in employment is supported by stable jobPermanent employees (with permanent contracts) increased by over 1,3 million (Istat).
Even for the womenThe post-Covid recovery is characterized by a significant increase in employed workers (+4,6% between 2019 and 2023) and, conversely, a decrease in self-employment, which saw a 3,8% decline in female employment. Only in 2023 did we see a slight reversal of the trend, with this component recovering (+2,8%), although it is still far from returning to pre-Covid levels.
The growth of the employee The increase was largely driven by permanent contracts: between 2019 and 2023, there were 156,000 more permanent female workers (+2,3%). The number of temporary workers grew by 65,000, or 4,6% more in the period 2019-2023, but has declined in the last year (-1,3%). Among young women, in particular, there has been a marked increase in permanent contracts: +8,3% between 2019 and 2023, and +7,3% between 2022 and 2023. (Fondazione Studi Consulenti del Lavoro).
Abolition of the RdC and the PdC
The abolition of the benefits introduced by the yellow-green government and maintained by subsequent governments was one of the most important reforms of the Meloni government which replaced them with theInclusion Allowance (Adi) and Support for training and work (Sfl)During their period of validity (May 1, 2019, to December 31, 2023), the RdC and PdC cost 34 billion. The government argued that the removal of welfare measures favored increased employment, especially in the South. The measure certainly did not have the social effects that were feared, but demonstrating the link between the two social phenomena is probatio diabolica. INPS attempted to do so in its 24th report, highlighting significant data that, while not providing absolute proof of a direct link, can at least be identified as a contributing factor.
The analysis of employment outcomes highlights a significant improvement in the share of employed people among those receiving RdC after the cessation of the programThe share of employed workers increased from 14% in December 2022 to 18% in 2023, reaching 23% in December 2024. Among those receiving RdC who did not apply for Adi or Sfl, the share of employed workers increased from 18% in December 2022 to 25% in December 2023, reaching 30% in December 2024. In absolute terms, the number of employed workers increased from approximately 100 to 161 over the two-year period. For those who applied but did not receive any financial support, approximately a third of RdC recipients remained without support in 2024, the share of employed people increased from 18% in December 2022 to 21% in December 2023, up to 27% in December 2024. The number of employed people increased from 30.223 to 46.420 (INPS).
Wages, incomes and contracts
Il the issue of wages is the main focus of the opposition in Campo largoOver the past 35 years, while real wages have grown in the main OECD countries, in Italy they have remained virtually stagnant. In fact, between 1990 and 2024, the OECD average increased by 35%, while in Italy it fell by 1,6%. The report by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) explains that the problem is not due to a single cause. One of the most significant is the changing labor market. Part-time employment has increased from 4,4% in 1990 to 31,5% in 2018. This means that many people are working fewer hours or fewer weeks and, as a result, earning less over the year. This does not mean that hourly wages have decreased for everyone: part of the decline is due to the fact that discontinuous or part-time work is now more common. However, below this threshold of €35.100 per year, the 2026 personal income tax structure is on average more generous, in real terms, than it was in 1990; above this threshold, however, it is more burdensome. This reversal reflects the redistributive choices made over the period observed: the reforms have progressively concentrated tax relief on the lower-middle end of the income distribution, while the real tax burden on those with medium-high incomes has increased, primarily due to the fiscal drag. The distribution of workers below the €35.100 threshold has remained essentially stable over time. Approximately 83,7 percent of all workers and employees in the sample used received an income from work below the threshold in the period 1990-2018 and this share has not changed significantly over time, going from 84,9 percent in 1990 to 83,3 in 2018 (Upb Note 1.2026).
The government and the majority defended the Jobs Act in the referendum promoted by the CGIL.
With the May Day decree (DL n. 62/2026) the government introduced the fair wage principle, anchoring it to the Total Economic Treatment (TEC) identified by the national collective agreements stipulated by the most representative employers' and workers' organizations. "The most important point" of the Labour Decree is "the link between hiring incentives and the application of the total economic treatments of the most representative agreements: good bargaining - he explains - thus becomes the concrete measure of fair wages, the limit of decency below which there are underpayments and exploitation". While the minimum salary, “chosen by the parties, would push many companies out of the national collective bargaining agreements, crush average wages, and transform minimum wages into an election campaign product.” (Daniela Fumarola, CISL secretary).
Acceleration of contract renewals in public employmentTwenty agreements in four years, with negotiation timelines reduced from twenty to six months. Increases of 5,4% are planned for the three-year period 2025-2027, with a review clause in 2027 for any deviations from inflation. "The draft agreement once again protects workers' wages, providing for wage increases above expected inflation and, for the first time, the introduction of a subsequent review mechanism to safeguard purchasing power against potential losses due to inflation" (Maurizio Landini).
Pensions
La pension This is the issue where the government and the majority are most tempted to abandon the path of virtue. Indeed, a fifth column operates within the coalition, which, when it could, has enacted measures that have undermined the precarious stability of the system (Decree Law No. 4 of 2019). The Meloni government, however, must be credited with helping to contain the damage and end the adventurism. At least for now. But the ultimate test is set for the final budget bill of the legislature. And the majority's strength is weak. The game is played on the indexing mechanism of the requirements in relation to the increases in life expectancy. which already presented problems in the final stages of the 2026 budget law. The Ministry of Economy and Finance quantifies the importance of the mechanism in a note. The set of pension reforms from 2004 to today cumulatively produce a lower incidence of pension expenditure equal to 60 percentage points of GDP until 2060. Indeed, the Ministry of Economy and Finance writes, based on the RGS accounts, "more than a third" of these savings is "attributable to the automatic adjustment of retirement eligibility requirements to changes in life expectancy." This equates to over 20 percentage points of GDP, approximately €450 billion of the 2025 GDP. It's worth noting that the mechanism had been blocked by the yellow-green government until the end of 2026, and that it was the Meloni government that brought forward the end of the freeze by two years.
Quota manipulation and the failure to renew some early retirement options have resulted in a higher number of old-age pensions than early retirement pensions in 2025 and the first half of 2026.
The supplementary pension
The sector had been forgotten for at least twenty years. The only measure adopted during this period, in 2011, was an increase in the tax rate on returns from 11 to 20%. In the 2026 budget law, the government established, effective July 1st, the automatic transfer of severance pay to new hires with the silent/assent formula. It should be noted that the document presented by Campo Largo on this point stated: "The public pension system must be protected and strengthened, preventing all initiatives that tend to undermine its financial solidity and social credibility by surreptitiously encouraging the transfer of workers' pension savings to private financial groups."
Fuels
In an interview about rising fuel prices because of war in the Middle East, the president of Nomisma Energy, Davide Tabarelli stated: "Consumers around the world haven't understood the gravity of the situation, so fuel consumption hasn't decreased." "On the final price at the pump," Tabarelli clarifies, "we have about one euro in taxes. The operator's margin is very small, around four cents per liter, and the entire distribution system accounts for less than twenty cents. However, we have about 20 points of sale: it's a very fragmented network that needs to be made more efficient. For now, we should almost consider ourselves lucky if gasoline and diesel remain around two euros. We can't yet rule out scenarios of 2,50 or even 3 euros per liter."
In Italy, a liter of fuel costs the same or less than in other countries, especially neighboring ones, from which motorists travel to fill up their tanks. According to Cargopedia, which monitors price trends, on August 31st, the average price of 95-octane gasoline in Italy was €2,025, and diesel €2,139. In France, the prices were €2,029 and €2,212, respectively. In Germany, they were €2,203 and €2,255. In Switzerland, the equivalent of €2,097 and €2,255. In Denmark, they were €2,483 and €2,545; in the Netherlands, €2,400 and €2,455; and in Norway (which has oil reserves), €2,560 and €2,451. The price of LPG in Italy is remarkable, at €0,746, making it among the lowest in Europe.
The well-founded criticisms
Having said all this, as far as an objective reconstruction of four years of government is concerned, Italy is not the best of all possible worlds, so much so that despite the "reforms" mentioned, performances remain in the last places in EuropeItaly is experiencing slow growth and lacks an adequate industrial policy to address major crises. Employment trends, although recovering, are limited when it comes to women's employment because work-life balance policies that affect access to the labor market are inadequate. Public debt is too high, even though the improved spread has reduced the burden of debt service. The declining birth rate is one of the major emergencies and is accompanied by aging, but the government has been unable to establish, despite the Mattei plan, effective access paths for foreign workers to meet businesses' needs. For electoral consensus, it has preferred to boast about successes in deportations and repatriations. Although necessary, these measures do not address the issue of manpower needs, which remains a random factor in the labor market.
As for the wages Wage dynamics are closely linked to productivity. In the long run, wages can sustainably increase if the value produced by each worker increases. And it is precisely in this area that Italy has accumulated the greatest delay.Evening Courier Economy).
