The spotlight of politics today is all concentrated on the direction of the Democratic Party which will begin in the mid-afternoon. On the agenda is the face-to-face between the premier and secretary of the Pd Matteo Renzi, fresh from the American week accompanied by a thousand controversies in Italy, and the minority of the Pd who is willing to do battle on the labor reform and on the 18 in line with the CGIL, which in turn threatens a general strike. In the fiery debate within the Democratic Party, the example of the Germany where, however, replenishment occurs very rarely.
The crux of the dispute concerns the overcoming of Article 18 on dismissals, which today applies to about 9 million workers out of 18 million and 20% of young people, i.e. those hired with permanent contracts in companies with more than 15 employees.
The Government's proposal is that, except in cases of discrimination which provide for re-employment, in all other cases the dismissal is compensated by a monetary compensation that grows over time but not by the so-called reinstatement. The minority doesn't agree and instead asks that there be reinstatement even if after a reasonable number of years.
Renzi, however, does not want to mess up and intends to dissect the labor market with a sign of flexibility (therefore nothing reintegrates, as in most cases already happens in Germany) accompanied however - compatibly with the available resources - by universal shock absorbers.
An ongoing mediation proposal provides that disputes between employers and employees in cases of dismissals will be resolved not by the judge but by arbitration between companies and unions. We will see today but it is all too easy to predict that the real showdown between Renzi and his opponents will not take place today but in Parliament when the reform has to be voted on.
There it will be understood whether the so-called republican pact still works whereby those who disagree can freely express their opinions but in the end vote according to the indications of the party that got them elected or the tear is complete.
It is clear that if he fails to get the enabling law approved in the normal way, Renzi – to whom 41% of voters are strictly asking for reforms – would inevitably have to resort to a decree law and possibly a vote of confidence, with respect to which minority parliamentarians will find themselves at a crossroads: reluctantly approve or completely break with Renzi's Democratic Party.
