The countdown to the elections: the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella is ready to sign the dissolution of the Chambers and will probably do so tomorrow, December 28, the day also expected for the last government meeting which will also decide the date of the elections. In all likelihood it will be March 4th that is the day on which a political agreement was found.
This is the path on which the Quirinale and Palazzo Chigi are orienting themselves after the parliament decided not to decide on the ius alone, by missing the quorum in the Senate a few days ago. It is the opinion of the prime minister and del Colle that there is no longer any room for attempting a recovery, despite the appeals and the last one - accompanied by numerous signatures - sent by the "Italian Movement without Citizenship" to Sergio Mattarella, i.e. by the young born and raised in Italy by foreign parents without citizenship who have been waiting for the law for some time and will not see their dream come true. With a heartfelt letter, the boys of the "Italian Movement without Citizenship" ask the Head of State not to "leave them alone" in their battle to get the law on citizenship approved now. And from the left the appeals for approval are multiplying.
However, despite the appeals and protests, the expectation for the dissolution of the Chambers is growing. The meeting of the Council of Ministers n. 65 is scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, even if the date and time have not yet been published and could therefore be postponed to Friday. The premier's traditional end-of-year press conference will take place in the morning at 11. This time Paolo Gentiloni will not limit himself to taking stock of the year but, more generally, of his mandate and of the legislature that is about to end. He will not resign, as agreed with President Mattarella to keep Italy a government in full function, all the more useful since the outcome of the polls is not obvious and may not lead to a clear and stable majority, thus making the definition longer of the new government. Gentiloni and "his" ministers will also remain in the saddle to treat the relevant dossiers still open in Brussels as equals: the go-ahead from Brussels to the financial manoeuvre, still sub judice; the reform of the Eurozone which France and Germany will present to the European Council on 22 and 23 January. At stake will also be the renewal of international missions (including in Niger to counter the departures of migrants). Just sending a new mission to Niger risks postponing the Council of Ministers. Premier Paolo Gentiloni himself announced the intention of the new mission. Soon, he said, the government will ask Parliament to authorize the mission to Niger, which "will have the task of consolidating that country, combating human trafficking and countering terrorism".
The project is at an advanced stage. The Chief of Defense Staff, General Claudio Graziano, explained that a reconnaissance is already underway in Niamey, the capital of Niger, to study the details. "A few hundred men" will be sent to Niger, the general said, as soon as there is a vote in Parliament. "It won't be - Graziano assured - a 'combat' mission: our contingent will have the task of training the Nigerian forces and making them capable of effectively countering the trafficking of migrants and terrorism". But criticism is pouring in from the left.
