“Someone has pointed out that the effectiveness of the reform action undertaken is hard to show. Indeed, the situation has even worsened. In my opinion greater prudence in making these judgments would be desirable, because the reforms need time to unfold their effects, while the costs they entail are unfortunately immediately perceptible”. So the premier Mario Monti reply to harsh accusations coming from Silvio Berlusconi, who yesterday lashed out against the economic policy of the current Executive.
“The economy with Monti has only gotten worse compared to when we were in government,” said the Cavaliere. “Probably some reforms had been made – replied the Professor today from the Anfia assembly -, but the previous government left a lot to do".
As for the spread, which Berlusconi had defined yesterday as "a scam", the Premier underlined that "the stabilization of public debt securities achieved in recent months is an essential prerequisite for restarting credit to companies".
The Prime Minister then invited "anyone who is about to govern Italy in the next five years" to "make a very careful analysis of the structural reforms that have been launched and those to be implemented: I would be sorry if oversimplified judgments prevailed on the carried out”, also because “paradoxically stopping a reform before it can have borne fruit is even worse than not doing the reform".
In any case, Monti reiterated that "Italy finds itself having to face structural problems, and in a period of serious financial crisis it cannot be lavish with legislation providing financial and fiscal support".
Many of the reforms in the pipeline will be lost, because in the coming months of the electoral campaign, Parliament will not be able to convert the decrees passed in recent weeks by the Government into law. This will skip the new rules for the unification of the Provinces and the ineligibility of the convicts.
Also bid farewell to the bill to insert the obligation of a balanced budget in the Constitution. The text was approved today in the Chamber with 442 votes in favour, 3 against and 6 abstentions, but yesterday the Senate group leaders decided that, with the imminent dissolution of the Chambers, it will not be possible to examine the measure. An agreement is being worked on between the two houses of Parliament to save the text, but little hope remains.
Better luck instead for the development decree bis: today the Government will put its trust in the text and tomorrow morning the final vote will arrive in the Chamber. It was on this provision that the government crisis began last week, with the decision of the PDL to abstain from the vote of confidence. A move that shortly, immediately after the approval of the stability law, will lead Monti to resign.
The reform of the Electoral law it was therefore archived: in February we will vote with the much reviled (but never corrected) Porcellum. Among the most criticized aspects of the Roberto Calderoli law are the blocked lists, which do not allow voters to choose individual candidates to send to Parliament.
To partially correct this aspect - and obtain an important return in electoral terms - the Democratic Party has chosen to hold new primaries, which this time will have the aim of electing the candidates for the next policies. The deputy secretary of the Pd, Enrico Letta, announced that the secretariat of the party proposes to vote on December 29 and 30 (ballot boxes are also open to non-members).
Meanwhile, however, Pier Luigi Bersani's party has to deal with the problem of alliances. The front to be mended is the one with the leader of Sel, Nichi Vendola, who threatened to withdraw support for a possible center-left government if the Democratic Party intends to continue along the path of the Monti agenda. Vendola also rules out participating in an executive which includes Pier Ferdinando Casini's UDC.
Internal problems also for the Movimento 5 Stelle, from which Beppe Grillo has today been expelled the dissidents Federica Salsi and Giovanni Favia. “Federica Salsi and Giovanni Favia – writes the Genoese comedian on his blog – have the use of the 5 Star Movement logo withdrawn. I beg them to refrain for the future to qualify their political action with reference to M5S or to my figure. I wish them to continue their brilliant activity as advisers”.
