More than a detailed list of the measures that will have to be adopted to deal with the emergency of the Italian and European financial situation, the program illustrated by Monti to the Senate tends to provide a new cultural paradigm to which the Government will adhere and to which he also invites us to tune in the political forces in the interest not only of Italy but also of politics itself which must "be reconciled with the citizens" in order to continue to be the "beating heart of democracy".
The language that concedes nothing to rhetoric changes and even when referring to the slogans which the activity of the new Government intends to draw inspiration from, such as the triptych "rigor, growth, equity", it is done in a calm tone, as if it were obvious that the rigor without growth it cannot achieve the goal of getting Italy out of trouble. Just as Monti forcefully refuted the idea that Italy is commissioned by Europe or worse by the ECB, because in reality the things that international bodies have asked for are none other than those already studied and proposed by many Italian research centers and which therefore everyone already knew very well, only that so far we haven't found the strength to do them.
Furthermore, as a premise to the whole speech, Monti explained that the crisis is not only Italian, but affects our country more strongly than others, which is having more difficulty than others in getting out of it, and that if the euro were to fail, the whole European construction would be in danger . Many of the difficulties encountered by the whole of Europe in managing the crisis stemmed from flaws in governance. It will certainly be necessary to make profound changes to the European rules and it is essential that Italy stop being considered the weak link in the chain as soon as possible and be able to regain its rightful place in the Community decision-making bodies because if you leave everything to others to decide, it is not said that these others also have the interests of our country at heart.
Politicians reassured on the fact that the caretaker government would be better called one of national commitment) does not want to replace Parliament and the parties, and having clarified our interests and our objectives vis-à-vis the Europe with which we identify, Monti also indicated to large outline the actions that your government intends to pursue. Rigor, growth and fairness are always intertwined as they support each other. Only in one passage did the Prime Minister seem to be advocating a two-stage policy: first to deal with the emergency and then to launch a general project for the modernization of economic structures which is essential for growth. In reality, the two things must go hand in hand given that even the emergency measures must be such as to contain structural aspects which will be effective over a longer period of time but which are indispensable for influencing the expectations of investors, who are concerned not only with the immediate result of their choices but above all to the sustainability of their investment over time.
The major emphasis throughout the intervention was on growth. There have been sacrifices – said Monti – and there will be. They will have to be done in the name of equity, going to calculate this equity not only towards the strongest and most organized social and political groups, but also towards all those who do not have the strength to associate, such as young people and women “two great wasted riches of this country”.
On concrete measures, Monti preferred not to go into detail in most cases even if he cited most of the chapters that have been part of the debate for some time, from cutting the costs of politics to reorganizing the administration, from privatizations to liberalisations, from tax evasion to the emergence of undeclared work. He was a little more detailed on three points: pensions, the labor market, the taxation of real estate or, in any case, of assets.
On social security, he said that, despite being in a good situation as regards old-age pensions thanks to the reforms already made, there are still too many inequalities of treatment and too many privileges which make the sector fragile. On the labor market, he underlined that, with the consent of the social partners (and this is not a trifling incident), it will be necessary to equalize a situation which sees an unacceptable and uneconomical dualism between those who are too protected and those who do not it is for nothing. Furthermore, it will be necessary to move bargaining closer to companies and tackle the reform of social safety nets.
He was more nuanced on the issue of assets. In the first place, he seems to have ruled out a one-off measure of two or three hundred billion euros to bring down the public debt in one fell swoop. Instead, noting that in Italy real estate taxes are much lower than in other European countries, he seemed to be inclined to restore the ICI also on first homes. In another passage of the speech, however, Monti linked the increase in taxes on real estate and consumption to the possibility of reducing taxation on work and on businesses which would serve to recover some competitiveness for our productions. And on this subject the various political forces have already unleashed themselves with the usual controversies and accusations of social butchery!
Monti has certainly not hidden the difficulties that will have to be overcome. The tone appeared conciliatory, tending to instill confidence not only in the citizens but above all in the political forces that will have to approve his measures in Parliament. However, rationality alone will not be able to break through all the walls that our political citadels have built in defense of their votes and even more of their clientele. The League is the first to demonstrate that it puts the defense of its own backyard before general interests, but others will come when individual measures are discussed. The new Prime Minister will have to be more vicious if he wants to complete the "extremely difficult" task he has undertaken.
