"I refuse to think that a large democratic country like Italy is not able, through free elections, to choose an effective government majority and, indirectly, a suitable leader to lead it". These are the words of Prime Minister Mario Monti in an interview with the director of 'Tempi', Luigi Amicone. The Professor therefore ruled out once again the possibility of remaining at the helm of the government even after the general elections of 2013, not judging the hypothesis that the new majority that emerged from the polls would ask him to continue to hold the office of prime minister as unlikely.
JUSTICE: NEWS COMING SOON
Going back to the action of his Executive, Monti announced that on the justice front there will be "many legislative innovations", aimed "at responding not only to the prison emergency, but also to the slowness of the processes which, as calculated by the Bank of 'Italy, has a negative impact on the growth of our country for one percentage point of GDP”.
What are the upcoming measures? "I am thinking, for example, of the filter on appeal for civil cases - the Premier said -, the establishment of a court for companies, the reform of compensation for damages from excessive length of proceedings or the revision of the judicial geography".
The Government will also intervene in the field of interceptions. The Prime Minister described the matter involving the President of the Republic as part of the investigation into the alleged negotiation between the State and the Mafia as "serious". An episode that made it “evident to everyone that abuses have occurred and are still occurring in the phenomenon of wiretapping. It is therefore the government's task to take initiatives in this regard”.
Instead, a possible amnesty is barred: it is "a measure for which two thirds of the votes of Parliament are needed, which I do not think there are at the moment".
SCHOOL: WE WILL SUPPORT PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS
As for the school, Monti assured that the Government will support private institutes. "I can assure you that the Government will not fail to provide the necessary economic support to the sector - underlined the Professor -, which we recognize as having an essential complementary function to that performed by the public schools. This will be done compatibly with the limits established with the recent revision of public spending, with the stability law of next autumn”.
The Premier explained that the Executive “due to its composition, its programme, its orientation, recognizes the importance and great scope for subsidiarity, for coexistence in profound mutual respect between public and private, between state and church, between religions. Having studied in a Catholic school, I obviously know the great role, alongside public education, of equal education and the social contribution that non-state schools offer, making up for the difficulties of many situations in the country".
TAX EVASION: ITALY IS IN A STATE OF WAR
Monti therefore launched a new alarm on tax evasion, which “does great damage to the perception of the country abroad. Italy is in difficulty above all because of this phenomenon and from this point of view it is in a state of war”.
With reference to Northern Europe, the Premier explains that "the public notoriety of our high tax evasion rate contributes a great deal to making those countries to which we may need financial assistance from time to time uneasy towards Italy".
"Up until a few weeks ago, when I was also Minister of Economy and Finance - he added - and therefore head of the Revenue Agency and political head of the Guardia di Finanza, I have always strongly encouraged the people who they work to make a tough fight against evasion, which can result in the need for moments of visibility that can be unsympathetic. But which have a strong preventive effect on other citizens”.
EUROBONDS: THEY ARE AN INTELLIGENT PROPOSAL
Expanding the perspective to the European sphere, Monti finally reiterated how the Eurobonds “are an articulated and intelligent proposal which also contains elements that the Italian government has brought to the European table for some time. We have all seen that some countries (certainly Germany, but also some Nordic countries) are not willing at the moment to give their consent to Eurobonds. This means that they will probably come, but a little later”.
