Giampaolo Galli, PD deputy and former director general of Confindustria, is tired but euphoric. "The Government has just managed to get the decree approved by the Commission, overcoming the opposition from almost all political groups." It's a huge thing - Galli says in this interview with FIRSTonline – attempts have been made for more than twenty years to dismantle the clot of power that coagulates around the popular ones and which over time has ended up being a brake on the country's growth. This government is doing incredible things, demonstrating that it does not want to weaken the reform drive despite the improvement in the financial situation and the first signs of an economic recovery. Think of the choice not to give in to the wishes of Parliament which wanted the exclusion of collective redundancies from the new rules on art. 18. The Government said no, both because this exclusion would have been against the letter of the delegation, but above all because otherwise our reformist credibility towards international observers would have gone astray. We would have made the usual figure of someone announcing major reforms and then looking for all the loopholes to frustrate them."
Yet the easing of restrictions by both the ECB and Brussels is giving new strength to all those in Parliament and outside, especially among the trade unions, who would like to happily resume spending on public money. See, for example, Grillo's challenge to approve the basic income, or the trade union proposals and a part of the Democratic Party to amend the Fornero law on pensions.
” When it comes to basic income, it is first of all necessary to clarify to which perimeter it should be applied. If one thinks of a form of support not linked to job loss, it seems to me impossible both for the cost and for the social effects that it would cause in a country where labor participation is already low (about 55% against 65% 70%) compared to the rest of Europe. Therefore, if it is an unemployment subsidy, I don't see any major differences with respect to the Aspi that the Jobs Act has launched. Then we must bear in mind that years ago in Germany and France they narrowed and did not widen the audience of beneficiaries of the subsidy, because large pockets of people had been created who ended up being maintained by the state instead of working. Instead, the goal must be to include people in the world of work, not to keep those who are not working. While if we think of subsidies to combat various forms of poverty and marginalization, then we can focus on an accurate examination of the already existing tools and possibly launch some updates."
However, the 5 Stars challenged the Democratic Party on delicate ground, so much so that many party members said they were ready to discuss it.
” It's right – says Galli – to show interest in discussing such an important matter. But it is obvious that if Di Maio then says that for them dialogue is held with those who accept their proposals, then we will not go very far because we are only dealing with a propaganda move. The 5 Stars are a bit like Woody Allen when he said that love is better done alone”
Then there is the concentric attack on the Fornero reform judged too severe both for having created exodus workers and for the excessive advancement of the retirement age.
“Also in this case, if one avoided demonizing a reform such as that of Fornero, which was the real pillar of Italy's rescue from the crack in 2011, for demagogic reasons, some formula for improvement could be found. One can also imagine the possibility of an early retirement provided that the pension is calculated with mathematical precision so as to make it financially indifferent. But there are many issues to evaluate. In the first place there is the risk that the Parliament will change the parameters in a more favorable direction for retirees with an increase in costs for the INPS. Secondly, we need to understand whether over the years pensions that are too low would not create a push to ask the Government for increases that would end up being charged to general taxation. Finally, technically, the Accounting Department would not be able to assess what the anticipated cost would be (to be recovered over time thanks to lower pensions) and this would cause many problems with Brussels. Certainly there is a problem of over-XNUMXs who find it difficult to re-enter the world of work, but this problem can be better tackled with an instrument such as the one studied by former minister Giovannini, the pension loan, while it would be necessary to develop a series of active policies to older people into the world of work, as is done in other countries.”
Isn't there therefore the risk of a slowdown in the process of reforms and a return to the financial laxity that brought us to the brink of crisis three years ago without stimulating growth?
” It doesn't seem to me that the Government wants to attenuate the reform drive. It seems to me aware that we are walking on a narrow ridge and that there is a risk of going backwards. Only by aiming for changes capable of improving our growth potential will we be able to take advantage of this favorable window that the international scenario offers us. In this sense, we should not expand current spending again, but concentrate all the additional resources that may form in the public budget to boost investments that have been severely cut in past years. I don't think what Giavazzi claims is true, namely that investments are not needed to support the economic situation because they would arrive late anyway. I believe we will have to focus our attention on removing existing obstacles, streamlining procedures, and selecting investments that are truly useful for increasing the competitiveness of the system."
