Piero Giarda, Minister of Relations with Parliament, gave an interview to Corriere della Sera whose main topic was the "spending review", i.e. the task of reviewing the expenditure items of the state budget, entrusted to him by Mario Monti.
The objective of the public expenditure review, as explained by the Minister in the interview, is not only to "improve the quality of the services offered to citizens" by optimizing and reducing waste, but also and above all'to find funds to be allocated to the reduction of the tax burden or to development measures”. Right now "attention is focused on the resources used to finance central government services, overall around 100 billion euros destined for personnel, operating and intermediate consumption expenses”, in order to increase productivity.
The tidying up process, given that the State, with over two million employees, is the first employer of the Italian economy, it will be very long, the Minister confesses, "it will take years". "By April", however, the Council of Ministers will receive "a first report on the critical issues that are emerging" also thanks to a "collaboration with the various ministries that is intensifying". Subsequently, the "first step" to be taken will be the "renegotiation of contracts for the supply of goods and services expiring between 2012 and 2013 and the revision of some spending programs that are no longer priorities".
