Yesterday's surge in the price of gas to 321 euros per MWh has made the energy emergency even more dramatic, which risks forcing thousands and thousands of Italian companies (120 according to Confcommercio which speaks of the danger of 370 jobs at risk ) to close due to unsustainable energy costs and to make it impossible for many Italian families to make ends meet due to the abnormally high bills and food price increases. But the meteoric rise of the gas price – which traded at 26 euros last year – fell like lightning on the electoral campaign by pushing the leader of Action, Carlo calenda to ask for a temporary suspension of one day of the electoral campaign itself to make all the political forces face up to their responsibility and the need to support an extraordinary plan of government interventions, regasifier included. Open up heaven.
CALENDA INSISTS FOR THE LEGASFINER IN PIOMBINO AND FdI OPENS
Calenda was sarcastically rebuked by the leader of the League, Matteo Salvini, who probably believes he is still on vacation at Papeete, but also by the leader of the Five Stars, Giuseppe Conte. Instead the secretary of the Democratic Party, Enrico Read, he warned of the drama of the moment and urged the Government to pass a decree to support businesses and families. And no one has missed the novelty of the Brothers of Italy who, dissociating themselves from the League but also from its representation in Piombino (where the mayor belongs to Meloni's party) said clearly that in the Tuscan city the regasification terminal is useful and must be done: "The problem of energy independence is a priority: I will tell our mayor of Piombino" promised Ignazio La Russa, Meloni's right arm, who however later took a half step back.
Luckily Draghi is there, he is perfectly aware of the seriousness of the situation and is preparing to intervene quickly with a decree on the model of the Aid decree and with an energy saving plan to be presented next week., on which the ministers Cingolani and Daniel Franco.
A THREE-POINT DECREE AND AN ENERGY SAVING PLAN
From the first rumors coming out of the Government offices, the new emergency provision should be based mainly on three points: 1) the extension on the petrol discount, which expires on September 20; 2) the renewal of tax credits for businesses, currently only refinanced until 30 September; 3) the sale of energy packs at controlled prices.
The problem, however, is that of resources which does not seem to worry the political forces much in the electoral campaign but on which Draghi is instead committed, with Minister Franco, to finding them without budgetary deviations, especially with the moonshine facing the market where , just in the last few hours, the Financial Times has given news of a speculative plan by hedge funds to strike downwards the Btp, promptly defended by the ECB, as evidenced by yesterday's drop in the Btp-Bund spread.
In short, the expensive gas - cynically maneuvered by Russia - enters heavily, as well as in the life of families and businesses, in the midst of the electoral campaign and in the absolute uncertainty of the financial markets but fortunately there is a government and Mario Draghi too in these moments he knows what he has to do.
