"There is a need for a commitment to national cohesion to face and overcome the difficult tests that are on the agenda". This is the message launched today by the head of state, Giorgio Napolitano, in reference to the speculative attacks that Italy is undergoing on the financial markets. A commitment "which more than ever should be released at this moment in our country, in society and in the institutions".
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi persists in choosing silence, probably held back by the fear of further disturbing the markets - as the spokesman Paolo Bonaiuti has already explained - especially after only two days from the appeal ruling on the Lodo Mondadori. Napolitano's words find an unusual supporter in the Minister of Simplification, the Northern League Roberto Calderoli, who underlined the need at this moment to "everyone play on the same side".
After Friday's crash, the Milan Stock Exchange continues to sink, accumulating losses that exceed three percentage points, while the spread between government bonds and bunds flies beyond imagination, breaking through the 300 bps wall. And in the same hours the majority seems to have become convinced that to reassure the markets it is first of all necessary to give some image of cohesion. Quick agreements are needed if we want to react to the onslaught of speculation. And the first step can only be the approval of the financial manoeuvre quickly: within the week, according to the superminister of the Economy Giulio Tremonti.
The president of Confindustria, Emma Marcegaglia, underlined that "it would be madness to get lost in conflicts within the majority" and that in moments like these "even the opposition must unite and work with the government". A cautious opening comes from the oppositions: "We in Parliament have always collaborated and collaborate - assured the leader of the Democratic Party, Pierluigi Bersani - but enough talk and smoke signals from the Government".
