The maneuver developed by the government could be strengthened, because - as stated in a long note by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi - "the crisis pushes us to speed up the correction process in a very short time, to strengthen its contents, to fully define the measures further aimed at achieving a balanced budget in 2014”. In a meeting at the Treasury Ministry between Tremonti and the majority group leaders, various hypotheses were studied to modify the maneuver and strengthen it. The changes that could be made to the decree and on which convergence could be found would concern pensions, stamp duty on the securities dossier, the internal stability pact of the Municipalities and health care charges.
The possibility of bringing forward to 2015 (now expected from 2020) the gradual increase in the retirement age of women in the private sector is being studied, but on this point there is firm resistance from the League. The safeguard clause that Tremonti aimed to introduce with the stability law in October and which provides for the cutting of tax breaks to find the 14,7 billion that should derive from the tax delegation could be inserted. A hypothesis, the latter, reported by the president of the Senate Budget Commission, Antonio Azzollini, at the end of the majority meeting at the Ministry of Economy.
The amendments, however, should not be excessively numerous. A curiosity: the parliamentarians of the PDL would have been sent a text message asking them not to present amendments unless agreed with the group. Comparison also within the League where it was decided to focus on a dozen modification proposals including the revaluation of pensions and changes to the internal stability pact. And even the opposition hypotheses of integration and correction are limited, no more than twenty in all. One of the requests is to limit the lack of indexation only to pensions that exceed the minimum by eight times, then there is the need for a progressive levy on savings (the stamp duty on securities deposits), from which in any case the government bonds.
On the other hand, the increase in taxation on financial income should be foreseen immediately (to be brought to 20%, today it is 12%). Norms are then indicated in favor of young people and women and for “a more incisive intervention on the costs of politics. In the late afternoon Tremonti meets the opposition in the Senate, a "political" meeting more than on the merits of the amendments. The maneuver should be approved by Thursday to pass the same day in the Chamber and obtain the definitive yes even the following day. In Montecitorio Pd, Udc, Idv and Fli have agreed to allow the final approval of the economic package by Friday evening, so as to be within the time frame of next Friday's European Council.
