“I would never speak of a 'descent' on the pitch, even if I had to. I would rather speak of a 'move up' in politics, because we need higher-level politics. I don't side with anyone. I would like the parties to take sides in favor of the ideas. Lastly, I hope that the ideas on our agenda can be shared by a majority in Parliament and in any case inspire new energies in the political debate. Obviously, my position does not involve any of the ministers who have collaborated with me". This was the announcement made by Mario Monti, resigning Prime Minister, in the long-awaited press conference at the end of the year. Yesterday the head of state, Giorgio Napolitano, dissolved the chambers and signed the decree of Palazzo Chigi which sets the early elections for 24 and 25 February.
“I am among those who have no sympathy for personal parties – Monti then replied to those who asked him if his name will appear on some electoral symbols -. However, I will not withdraw from him if the request to represent a point of reference arrives ”.
“We need content, a method of government, credibility. If by chance there were a push, I would have my brain to decide who is credible and who is not,” said the Professor in relation to a possible government alliance with the Democratic Party.
"I will not be a candidate for a particular college, even if I were to move in the direction of a political commitment, since as I believe you know I have the position of senator for life – Monti clarified again -. Said this, if one or more political forces with a credible adherence to this agenda, or to a better one but which I also find convincing, expressed the intention of running for prime minister, I would evaluate it. No one can be prevented from doing this and, if you allow, no one other than me has to give the answer".
ITALY HAS MADE IT BY ITSELF: IN EUROPE WITH THEIR HEADS UP
“I presented myself here on December 4, 2011 with members of my government. We had illustrated the measures taken by decree, illustrating the perilous framework in which the country found itself. Today it is easy to forget the drama of those moments. I can now reveal that in my first European outings as prime minister towards the end of November I found myself in a situation that reminded me of what Alcide De Gasperi said: 'I feel that everything except your courtesy is against me'. In one year, with the help of Parliament, I can say that that financial emergency has been overcome. Italians can once again be citizens of Europe with their heads held high. We got out of this situation without following the path of financial aid, which was also suggested to us by authoritative sources. Italy did it on its own and it was the right path”.
“When we heard the words of Alfano in Parliament on 7 December – continued Monti – we have drawn the consequences. Words weigh. Faced with the words 'we consider the experience of this government to be concluded', we could not help but believe that trust in us had lost”.
THE ANSWER TO ALFANO: "I REJECT THE ACCUSATION OF SURRENDING TO THE PD"
“We didn't want to continue because we wanted to avoid a misunderstanding: we didn't ask to govern. They didn't do us a favor – the outgoing Premier said again -. Alfano's judgment was heavy. I flatly reject the accusation of complaisance against some parties. And I consider it even more serious to believe that the government has leaned towards the Democratic Party than that of having misgoverned. Of course, we have been conditioned, but from all sides. The strange majority, due to its constitution, has prevented us from doing better, but has allowed us to do the good that we otherwise could not have done. For example, it would not have been possible with smaller majorities to implement measures such as the pension reform (unwelcome to the left) and tax interventions of a patrimonial nature (unwelcome to the right). The divergence of the various interests has prevented us from going all the way in the quality of those measures".
“BERLUSCONI? I'm having a hard time following it"
Monti continued by expressing “gratitude towards Berlusconi also for the candid relationship we've had over the past year. But sometimes I find it hard to follow the linearity of the your thoughts on the activity of our government. Yesterday she said that we made a complete mess, but a few days before she had used flattering expressions ”. Because of this "difficult understanding", the Professor said he had refused the "albeit generous" offer from the Knight to lead the moderates.
THE MONTI AGENDA IN A DOCUMENT: "CHANGING ITALY, REFORMING EUROPE"
The former Premier then spoke of the so-called 'Monti agenda': “We are happy that the political debate has moved from sides to content. We therefore decided to focus on this point systematically by producing a document entitled 'Changing Italy, reforming Europe'. I would like to point out some traits that define the physiognomy of this diary: do not destroy what has been done with everyone's sacrifice this year by evading the guidelines of Europe or by promising to remove the Imu or other taxes, also because otherwise after a year a double Imu would have to be imposed".
GROWTH AND SPREAD
"It is natural that there is no economic growth in Italy today, but this is a notation that is made by believing that Italians are idiots – continued Monti again -. How do you think that growth could come from the measures that were necessary? It was obvious that growth would suffer. It will be said that the reduction of the spread in the last year it is not at all related to the economic action of our government, but this is not true. For several reasons. First, in the summer of 2011, under the previous government, the ECB made large purchases of Italian bonds, but the spread rose; second, since this government took office the relationship in terms of spread between Italy and Spain has reversed; thirdly, the ECB only feels like expanding a little if it sees the countries heading down a path of discipline”.
JUSTICE AND COSTS OF POLITICS
“On justice, I think it is better to make laws ad nationem than ad personam. We did less than expected on the anti-corruption law due to the presence of some strong resistance. I believe that in this field we need to strengthen on various points: false accounting, vote swapping, statute of limitations, wiretapping and prevention of conflict of interest. On cuts to policy costs we have done much less than we would have liked, just think of the very strong resistance on a matter such as the Provinces”.
WOMEN IN ITALIAN SOCIETY
Monti then touched on the problems associated with the female figure in Italian society. “Growth and development require a qualitative leap in the way we see 'woman'. A true equal opportunities policy generates, according to some, an extra point of GDP per year. Today the way in which men relate to women, even in some authoritative public representations, is humiliating and contributes to weakening Italy's development”.
ELECTORAL REFORM AND CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS
The Professor responded to Berlusconi's accusations, who a few days ago expressed his regret for the lack of electoral reform, emphasizing that the government has not received any proposals in this direction. “You all know very well – Monti said – that the agreement envisaged that the government would deal with the economy and Parliament with the institutional part”.
