The lunch scheduled for today at Palazzo Grazioli, where the top government officials are convened for a summit on the economic maneuver, will be difficult to digest. The contrasts on the eve do not give hope for a drop in tension among the ranks of the majority. The leaked indiscretions on the Tremonti draft have unleashed the ire of many pidiellinis against the Economy Minister, headed by undersecretary Guido Crosetto, who defined the text as "psychiatrist-like". Even the Northern League was disappointed by the minister's intransigent rigor, gradually moving away from what until yesterday was a key ally in Berlusconi's team. Result: today Tremonti probably won't even show up for the meeting in the prime minister's Roman residence. Many assure that he is even ready to threaten his resignation.
But let's go back to the political reactions to the manoeuvre. Yesterday the federal secretariat of the Carroccio issued a more than negative judgment on the text, reiterating a resounding no to the idea of raising the retirement age. The Northern League are also against the cuts that would affect the municipalities: "unsustainable", according to the mayors of the North, who define themselves as "at the limit of endurance". And the Minister of the Interior, Roberto Maroni, is clear: "Based on the answers we will or will not get from Berlusconi, we will decide what to do on Thursday in the Council of Ministers on the manoeuvre". Even the leader of the PDL in the Chamber, Fabrizio Cicchitto, albeit in a different tone than that of Crosetto, asked to know in detail the articulation of the provision to evaluate "the quality and not just the quantity".
From the opposition, however, no doubt. The secretary of the Pd Pierluigi Bersani asks for the vote and sends back to the sender the request for dialogue with the opposition made by Berlusconi: "We don't have a government capable of governing and I fear that the markets will perceive it too. This is a serious problem for Italy. We do not accept diktats or even seeing welfare and work affected once again". Instead, UDC leader Pier Ferdinando Casini would like an "emergency government". As for Berlusconi, after defending the government on Sunday on the Promoters of Freedom website (the majority is "strong and cohesive"), yesterday he preferred to remain silent, but it seems that there were some fiery phone calls with Tremonti.
The prime minister allegedly complained that the head of the economy has not yet shown numbers and cards to his colleagues. For this reason tonight, at 18.45, a pre-council meeting with all the ministers will be held at Palazzo Chigi, during which Tremonti will illustrate the contents of the maneuver. There would be full agreement on the overall size of the provision (over 40 billion euros), according to what is learned from parliamentary sources. But the moment of truth will be today at lunchtime. The Knight finds himself having to mend the fractures between his allies without taking too many steps backwards.
