"This legislature, which many define as troubled, has been fruitful in my opinion". This was stated by the prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, during the year-end press conference. "The truth is that Italy has got back on track after the most serious post-war crisis - he added - The main merit of this is of families, businesses, work, those who study, those who take care of people . Not squandering these efforts is the first commitment that politics must make. On the contrary, the next legislature has the task of continuing this commitment, mending social divisions and reducing inequalities, increasing work. Ambition and reforms cannot be missing from the agenda”. Gentiloni then claimed the results of his government: “We didn't get by, confirming that in Italy there is a government left at the service of the country. As has been seen throughout this legislature also with the Letta and Renzi governments ”.
WE GROW RESPECTING THE RULES AND WITHOUT INCREASING TAXES
As for the last one Budget law, “we have put a fixed point to a strategy conducted in these five years – continued the Prime Minister – It was not easy to accompany growth by respecting the rules and not increasing taxes. Global food demand has picked up a good pace: a year ago, growth was forecast for 2017 that was half of what will actually be achieved in 2017. We are behind in the Eurozone, but the distance has more than halved in the last 4-5 years: was 1,9 points from the Eurozone average, today it is 0,7%. We are no longer bringing up the rear in Europe, if you have to look for it, look for it elsewhere. The deficit it dropped from 2,3% in 2013 to 1,6% in 2018. We are more than in order on this front. We have managed over the years to stabilize the debt and to start a path, albeit symbolic and marginal, of reducing the debt already envisaged in the 2018, 2019 and 2020 budgets. We then recovered one million jobs lost, the majority of them indefinitely. Of course, there is little to rejoice in thinking about the young people, the South, the job insecurity, the employment rate: all this tells us how much more there is to insist. But there are also the record figures of export, which grew from 390 billion in 2013 to around 440 in 2017. Italy is one of the four or five global giants in industrial exports. Sometimes, as they say in Rome, 'nun ce se crede'. But it is so".
BANKS BAVIES: NO GIFTS TO BANKERS
“We intervened decisively on the most significant banking crises. There are those who say that we have given away public money to the banks. Actually it was a question of saving savings, the economy of the territories and also of avoiding systemic consequences. Other than giving money to the villains. We did this with a fraction of the resources other countries (such as Germany, Spain and the Netherlands) used to bail out their banks. Some say that Italian banks remain a problem. I answer: let's try not to create it ourselves. The Italian system has solved its problems: impaired loans have dropped from 86 to 66 billion. Let this system work. We will ensure that the recovery activity continues. But let's try to avoid any crises caused by this or that improvised rule”.
Gentiloni also commented on the work of the commission of inquiry into the Banks: "A legitimate initiative by Parliament, but I welcomed with some relief the fact that the hearings are over: I don't think they were very useful".
MANEUVER: INDUSTRY 4.0 AND RECRUITMENT PLAN QUALIFYING POINTS
As for the “gigantic plan 4.0, the challenge is to bring Italian competitiveness into future decades and there is a need for growing technological innovation. This project can allow our companies to bring their competitiveness into the future. On a social level, we can claim the importance of Inclusion Income. In the proliferation of more or less imaginative promises, it is a concrete measure that is aimed at a substantial even if not sufficient share of families in difficult conditions. I then claim the plan for the hiring of young people in the south, which together with industry 4.0 is the qualifying point of the latest manoeuvre".
ILVA: EMPLOYMENT AND ENVIRONMENT AT RISK, THE INSTITUTIONS WITHDRAW THE APPEALS
For the Ilva question, “I addressed a few days ago in an absolutely institutional and respectful way to the president of the Puglia Region and the Mayor of Taranto – Gentiloni recalled – I hope that this appeal will help unblock the situation. We are talking about 14 thousand jobs and billions of investments for the environmental remediation of one of the most polluted areas of the country. We can do anything except blow this up. I reiterate the invitation to withdraw the appeal to prevent the situation from reaching crisis points which would be very serious from an employment and environmental point of view. In the meantime, we make every effort to meet the demands of those territories, which are sacrosanct. But I'm sure we'll find a way out eventually."
ALITALIA: OFFERS NEED TO BE IMPROVED, BUT A SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY IS NEEDED
Sul Alitalia dossier, “I hope that the conclusion can be reached quickly and that the offers on the table can also be improved; in some respects it is necessary – specified the Head of Government – and that there is also a great sense of responsibility on the part of employees and public opinion”.
MIGRANTS: 2017 WAS THE YEAR OF TURNING POINT
“2017 was also a turning point in terms of migration and the fight against trafficking in human beings. Anyone who talks about suddenly canceling the issue of migration does not know Africa, but the transition from crime to the management of the phenomenon is possible. Landings have decreased by 70% from July to today and by 30% this year, with a drastic reduction in deaths at sea: from 4.816 in 2016 to 2.832 this year. Returns have also drastically increased. There is a way to handle this matter in a humane way”.
CIVIL RIGHTS: A GREAT COURSE, BUT THERE WERE NO NUMBERS ON THE IUS SOLI
Civil rights chapter: “Last year we launched the civil unions, this year the crime of torture and bioassay – said the Prime Minister again – I am proud to have been part of the two governments that have achieved these goals, despite the fact that the path is incomplete”. The reference in this case is to the law on ius soli: “The best way to archive it for many years would have been to burn it – underlined Gentiloni – The truth is that we have not managed to put together the sufficient numbers to get this law approved. Failing to do so is a defect of government action. There was no uncertainty about the content on our part, just about the lack of numbers."
ITALY DOES NOT PAUSE, THE GOVERNMENT CONTINUES TO GOVERN
Gentiloni concluded his speech by emphasizing that “Italy is a dynamic, promising, admired and trustworthy country. It is also the healthiest country in the world, as shown by a Bloomberg rating. The uncertainties regarding political instability are not exclusive to Italy and in any case they should not be suffered, but faced with seriousness and competence. It will be President Mattarella who will dictate the times and methods of the next institutional steps. The spotlights will be on the electoral campaign, but I assure you that the government will not pull the oars in the boat, within the limits dictated by the Constitution and the laws. Italy does not pause”.
