After two postponements for health reasons, the day has arrived for the long-awaited press conference at the end of the year, which inevitably transformed into a press conference at the beginning of the year, of Giorgia Meloni. Over three hours of questions and answers during which the prime minister also let slip a not very institutional joke in Roman dialect: "I'm dying, guys".
There are many hot topics on the agenda: the ESM, which the prime minister defined as "an obsolete instrument", the Stability Pact, but also the "hot" dossiers regarding Degni, Verdini and Pozzolo. The latter in particular has created considerable embarrassment for Palazzo Chigi and for Fratelli d'Italia, the prime minister's party which also includes the deputy under investigation for the gunshot fired on New Year's Eve. “I have asked for its suspension from FdI,” announced Meloni.
Among the topics at the center of the 45 questions from journalists to which Meloni responded were also a possible direct confrontation with the secretary of the Democratic Party Elly Schlein ("Yes, I would", said the prime minister), her possible candidacy in the European elections in June (“I lean towards yes”), the premiership and the warning from the head of state Sergio Mattarella on the competition bill. A few minutes before the start of the press conference, among other things, A clear warning has arrived from the EU: The European Commission will “carefully analyze” the draft competition law adopted by Italy,” an EU spokesperson said.
The last question? On Chiara Ferragni: “The left reacted as if I had attacked Che Guevara.”
Meloni: “2024 will be a complex year, a decrease in interest rates would help us”
2024 “will be very complex for everyone: there are many important deadlines, the European elections, the Italian presidency of the G7 elections. We are all very busy", recalled Meloni who then responded to a question on the next budget law, the one that will impact 2025, said: "If the question is to increase taxes or cut public spending, between the two I prefer to cut public spending and I think an even more precise job can be done", said the Prime Minister "My objective is to confirm the measures we have carried out, if I can even improve them, we will evaluate it during the year", she added . “I'm not in favor of increasing taxes, this year I decreased them by cutting public spending,” the prime minister recalled, without saying, however, that of the 28 billion grounded by the Maneuver, over half (16 billion) were financed in extradeficit. Una corrective maneuver? “It seems very early to talk about it and during the race we will evaluate what needs to be done based on what will happen. However, we must try to look more at the lights than the shadows and from our perspective we see some encouraging signs: growth, the Italian stock exchange which has had the best performance in Europe, the spread which has fallen below 160 points, employment records. There are some encouraging signs and we must try to rejoice in the few things that are going well."
“We don't know what the economic developments will be this year, but the estimated growth - which is good data - is higher than the EU average. I trust that throughout this year we can be reasonable and imagine a decrease in interest rates, which would free up various resources that we have to pay on the public debt,” he continued
Three priorities for the first months of the year? “Establishment of the PNNR reform, justice reform, seaside resorts, scholarships for deserving students”. Looking at the past, the Prime Minister also spoke about the Easiest and most difficult moments of 2023: “the most difficult was Cutro. But luckily there were the exciting moments, being among people makes me happy."
Meloni on the Stability Pact: "Satisfied, even if it's not what I wanted, ESM is an obsolete instrument"
“I am satisfied with the Stability pact even if it's not what I wanted,” said Meloni who, then speaking about the rejection of the Month on the part of Parliament, he defined a mistake by the Conte government "to sign a treaty amendment knowing that there was not a majority in Parliament at the time to sign it. I don't think that the issue of the failure to ratify the ESM should be read in relation to the results of the Stability Pact. I think the ESM is an obsolete tool, the reaction of the markets shows that it is true, so if we want to look at the glass half full perhaps the lack of ratification can become an opportunity to transform it into something more effective, and this is the path to work on."
Meloni on the European elections: "I haven't decided whether to run yet, no majorities with the left"
“I haven't yet decided whether to run for the European elections but I need to understand if my possible candidacy would take away the Prime Minister's time from my work. Because I think it is a decision that must be made together with the other leaders of the majority", began Meloni, adding that his possible candidacy "could also lead other leaders to make the same choice which could become a very high level test". “I'm leaning towards yes.", he finally summed up.
Responding to a question on the future continental majority, the Prime Minister clarified: "I would not be willing to create a stable majority in Parliament with the left", a “different reasoning” is the support: "when the new commission is formed" where "when an agreement is made and "each appoints a commissioner then the government parties" tend to vote in favor of the agreement. Meloni then recalled that even in the case of the current president Ursula von der Leyen, the commission was also voted for by parties such as the Polish Pis which then "were never part of her majority".
“I believe that Italy has what it takes to have an important role in line with its weight: it is another objective that Italy has set for itself,” added Meloni regarding Italian “representation” in the next European Commission. The main aim must however be to "have a Commission and a policy that knows what to do tomorrow stronger in crisis scenarios, more effective, more determined in pursuing its strategic agenda so as not to hand ourselves over to new dangerous dependencies, we must learn from our mistakes, more effective on migration".
Speaking about the possibility that the former prime minister and president of the ECB Mario Draghi can be elected to lead the European Commission, Meloni clarified: “It is impossible to talk now about who can lead the EU, Draghi said he was unavailable. I believe that Italy has what it takes to play an important role in line with its weight: it is another objective that Italy has set for itself."
Melons on beach resorts and street vendors: "Mattarella's warning will not go unheeded"
One of the most awaited questions of the press conference came after about an hour and concerned the "significant constitutional concerns” by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella on the competition bill and in particular on the concessions of street vendors and beach resorts. “President Mattarella's appeal will not go unheard and in the next few days we will evaluate the opportunity for further clarification interventions on the matter” of the renewal of street vendors' concessions, stated the Prime Minister.
Sui bathing Meloni underlined that his Government has mapped the coasts to assess the scarcity of the good. "Serious work has been done and now the Government's objective is a reorganization rule that allows us to bring order to the jungle of interventions and pronouncements and to discuss with the European Commission with the dual objective of avoiding the infringement procedure and give certainty to operators. This is the work we are doing to give certainty to both the operators and the bodies that must apply the rules and will be the subject of the work in the coming weeks".
On the morning of January 4th, a clear warning also came from the EU: the European Commission will "carefully analyze" the draft law on competition adopted by Italy "from the perspective of the street vendor sector as well as that of beach concessions" and "will continue the bilateral dialogue on these two topics with the Italian authorities", said a Brussels spokesperson, recalling that the Commission "is monitoring the situation of the street vendor sector in Italy and has already been in contact with the national authorities on this issue".
Reforms: premiership, differentiated autonomy, privatizations, justice
Answering a question about constitutional reform, Meloni reiterated that the premiership does not affect "the powers of the head of state". “We know that the head of state is a figure of guarantee, I don't see how the election of the prime minister means taking away powers from the head of state, for me it creates a good balance and strengthens the stability of the government,” he said, adding that “This is not a referendum on the government or on Giorgia Meloni, but on what should happen next”. Then moving on todifferentiated autonomy, the prime minister said: “Autonomy is held together with the premiership, perfectly. Today there are directly elected regional presidents who have an unbalanced strength compared to the prime minister. Restoring this balance is important" "I don't believe in inequalities between north and south - he added - Autonomy does not mean taking away from one region to give to another, but establishes the principle that if you manage your resources well the State can evaluate to give you other skills too. I believe that this could also be a driving force for the South, I am not surprised that those who are against autonomy are those who spend the worst EU funds".
On privatizations “My approach is to reduce the presence of the State where it is not necessary and assert it where it is necessary” said the Prime Minister. In privatisations, the government intends to move with a reduction of shares in subsidiaries that do not reduce public control, such as the Post Office, or with the entry of private individuals with minority shares, as in Railways. Obviously these are complex steps and the timing is not just mine", explained the Prime Minister, adding: "we have given a signal with MPS with our initiative, part of the resources have returned, we have given a good signal. The State must control what is strategic but this also means opening up to the market."
"Justice reform and bureaucracy they are a priority. We have often given the image of a State that is strong with the weak, weak with the strong. It's not my mentality, I believe that this signal has arrived, and that some signals from the economy demonstrate it. But these are two things on which we must have the courage to seriously reform, and give the signal that Italy no longer wants to be at the rear." There separation of careers? “My position is known, it is a priority,” she declared.
On the possible third mandate for mayors and regional presidents, the Prime Minister commented: "I believe that Parliament should deal with it."
Meloni on the tax on banks' extra profits: "A win-win operation"
“It makes me smile that they are the first to criticize the first government that had the courage to tax the banks, they are the ones who preferred to give billions in gifts to the banks. This applies to the Democratic Party, with direct bailouts, to the M5S, the black belt of aid to banks", said the Premier in response to a question on the tax on extra profits. “We have applied a tax on what we consider an unfair margin – he continued – What changed during the conversion was the addition of the possibility of setting aside an amount equal to at least two and a half times the amount of taxation, in a non-distributable reserve, i.e. which cannot go towards the compensation of manager. By increasing reserves, credit will also increase granted to citizens, the more the bank's capital is strengthened, the more the available capital increases. Greater employment means greater revenues, and therefore more taxes for banks, because strengthening capital means positive returns for taxpayers and the State. A win-win operation."
The Degni, Pozzolo and Verdini cases
The Degni case? “I don't want to intervene, but imagining that political appointees in non-partisan positions behave like political militants scares me. It cannot be considered normal, it is a mentality that I fight. I was very struck by the fact that there was no one on the left to say a few words on this issue: Paolo Gentiloni who nominated him, Elly Schlein, I get called into question for everything", declared the Premier.
Another very careful issue to be addressed was that relating to the New Year's Eve shot fired from the gun of the FdI deputy Emmanuel Pozzolo: “The Pozzolo parliamentarian has a weapons license for personal defense, I don't know why but this shouldn't be asked of me but of the competent authority – replies Meloni – He went around with a weapon on New Year's Eve, I assume that whoever has a weapons license weapons for personal defense you bring a weapon with you, but that's not the issue. The point is that anyone who has a weapon must dispose of it with seriousness and responsibility, which is why there is a problem with what happened, I don't know the dynamics of the story, we'll see. But in any case someone was not responsible, and the one who was not responsible is the one who holds that weapon, it is not good for anyone but in particular, I asked that he be referred to the FdI arbitration guarantee commission, and suspended from the party, which is what I can do on a statutory level."
Below is also a response on the Anas procurement investigation involving Tommaso and Denis Verdini. “I think that we need to wait for the judiciary on the issue, certainly what I have read is that the interceptions refer to the previous government, Salvini is not called into question, and I don't think he should confer in the Chamber – Meloni replied to journalists – I think that yes always makes a mistake when you try to transform a case like this into a political one, from what I know the only card that Verdini had was that of the Democratic Party, but no one thought of involving the Democratic Party in this matter. It seems to me that businessmen and lobbyists are not having a good time with this government, and I don't rule out that this is also the reason why I get certain attacks."
The moral question, the direct attack on Conte e familyism
From the three "sensational" cases we moved on to the so-called "moral question”, with a question about the exponents of FdI (Santanché, Sgarbi, Del Mastro) to which the Prime Minister responds piqued: “I don't think we have relaxed our control powers, is a distorted and unacceptable reading. Until we have any further information I have nothing else to say. The moral question? I don't think there is a moral issue at the moment and that each case must be evaluated following certain certainties", declared the council conference, which then directly attacked the former prime minister and leader of the 5 Star Movement Giuseppe Conte: “On the moral issue we establish rules of engagement: Conte writes to me that I have to make a series of people resign because otherwise there is a moral issue. The M5S has always called for the resignation of suspects from any party. With one exception: those of the M5S. Two days before the letter, Conte appointed a person convicted in the first and second degree as vice president of the party", underlined Meloni. “When it happened to Conte, I didn't ask for Giuseppe Conte's resignation, because I don't believe that one can be, as happens on the left, guaranteeing with one's own people - including dog kennels - and executioners with others. So, I beg the left not to lecture me on morality. These are not decisions that are made without having all the elements of the case and the cases must be evaluated one by one. My idea of the rule of law is to wait for the decisions of the judiciary,” he concluded.
During the meeting with journalists, the prime minister also returned to her previous statement, "I am not blackmailable", reiterating that: "I think that someone in this nation thought they could give cards, but in a normal state there are conditions, I've seen it happen and I won't say more. I see attacks and they think it scares you if you don't do what they want, but I'm not someone who scares easily, I would 100 times rather go home, they are dealing with the wrong person. There are those who think they can direct the choices, but it doesn't work with me, I am the prime minister and I make them, I take responsibility for them."
Responding to a question about the roles entrusted to her sister and brother-in-law in FdI and in the government, the prime minister said piqued: "This accusation of familism is starting to tire me. My sister has been an FdI militant for 30 years, perhaps I should have put her in a state subsidiary like the others do, I put her to work for my party".
Migrants: “We are not satisfied”
On the topic of landings, which increased over the last year according to the same data from the Interior Ministry and after the freezing of the agreements with Albania and Tunisia, the Premier admitted: "We are not satisfied with the result obtained". However, the vindication of the work done was immediate, without which "everything would have been worse", she said, referring to the Mattei plan and the need to help migrants in Africa, stop the departures and fight traffickers.
Melons over Ukraine and Gaza
Among the last questions posed to the prime minister, one concerned the wars currently underway in Ukraine and the Middle East. “In Ukraine the only possibility is to continue sending weapons for a negotiation - said Meloni - In the Middle East? We tried to maintain a balance. Condemning Hamas and affirming Israel's right to exist. Supporting the civilian population, our hospitals have taken children from Gaza."
“We have worked from the beginning to avoid an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East because it could have unimaginable consequences – he added – We have done so by maintaining a balanced position, condemning the terrorist attacks by Hamas and supporting Israel's right to exist and defend itself. I make a new appeal to Israel to preserve the safety of the civilian population".
Meloni on the "gag law": "The law is the result of parliamentary work, it is not a government initiative"
For the first time, there were many empty seats in the Chamber: several Fnsi journalists in fact decided to abandon the meeting as a sign of protest against the law which "risks bringing down the curtain on information on judicial matters", said the president of the Journalists' Association, Carlo Bartoli, opening the press conference.
After apologizing for the postponements - "but there was no intention of running away from the journalists' questions, I have rarely run away from something", she stated - Meloni began her statement by responding to the journalists' protest: "The rule is the result of a parliamentary amendment that comes from an opposition member on which there has been a favorable opinion from the government but it is not an initiative of the government", he underlined, then entering into the merits of the provision: The amendment reports article 114 of the criminal procedure code to its original perimeter. The Orlando reform made an exception by allowing the publication of wiretaps. This doesn't take away the journalist's right to inform, I don't see a gag unless it is said that the press was gagged until 2017. It seems like a valid initiative to me, perhaps I wouldn't have taken it, I don't 'I did, but it seems to me to be a rule of balance between the right to inform and the citizen's right to defence'.
