The Renzi and Gentiloni governments have made an impressive amount of reforms over the course of about four years in various fields, from institutions, to school, to work, up to civil rights. Not all have been successful. Just think of the outcome of the referendum which soundly rejected the constitutional reforms. But even where the reforms have had positive results such as on the labor market and on pensions which have contributed to a moderate recovery of the economy and employment, they have not been judged adequate by the voters who rejected the PD governments on 4 March 2018 to move on to the extremisms of the Lega and 5 Stars who have promised quick and definitive solutions to the many problems of citizens.
Now we begin to see clearly that those promises only concealed deceptions. That bogus generosity based on increasing debt not only fails to eradicate poverty, but risks bringing the economy back into recession with disastrous consequences on employment. The policy set by the yellow-green government has been renamed as "recessive generosity", i.e. fake generosity which, instead of letting us enter a phase of vigorous development, is taking us back towards the darkest years of the crisis.
It is therefore more urgent than ever to start a profound and calm reflection on what past governments have done, on the successes but also on the delays and mistakes made, in order to be able to offer fellow citizens who are waking up from their populist infatuation, a realistic perspective to resume a healthy path of growth of individuals and of the whole country.
The agile volume by Professor Marco Leonardi (The halved reforms, Università Bocconi Editore) who was for four years in the technical structure of the Presidency of the Council, mainly dealing with problems of work and pensions, allows us to reflect in depth on the things done, those still to be done, and on the overall meaning of a pro-European policy and reformist that Italy still has a huge need for.
It is true that today it is unfashionable to talk about reforms. The word evokes difficulties and instills fear in vast sections of public opinion. In fact, the current government passes off as reforms what are actually attempts to dismantle everything that has been done in order to return to a past, described as happy, which is not only impossible but which, if one remembers what the country was like in the last forty years, one immediately sees that this mythical past was not so happy.
Perhaps the first thing a politician who wants to resume a seriously reformist discourse must do is to stop saying, as too often has been done in the past, that the right things to do to improve the situation of citizens are "unpopular". It is not true. After the demagogic inebriation, people will want wisdom and concreteness, obviously together with honesty and seriousness.
Reading Leonardi's book, the first thing that strikes you is the large number of reforms made in the past legislature, together with the complexity of the search for a legally possible and economically sustainable road. In short, the path of reforms is long and tortuous, completely different from the one heralded by Di Maio & C. leaning out of the balcony and proclaiming that he has eradicated poverty with a few more debts. If you want to avoid that the "change" produces effects opposite to those desired, it is necessary to carefully calibrate each regulation and to study the possible variations that it could induce in the behavior of the workers.
Profound innovations have been introduced on the labor market which have not had any negative effect especially on layoffs as feared due to the abolition of art. 18. Certainly it was not possible to complete the reform with a strong implementation of the so-called "active policies", just as the minimum wage and the reform of the bargaining were not made for a corporate closure of some unions and employers' associations.
On the other hand, regional responsibility for employment and training centers does not allow for uniform legislation and poses serious difficulties for changes to the functioning of the system. But it neglects to remember that the unemployment discipline has been applied to a wider audience including self-employed workers. So for pensions, after months of meetings with the trade unions as well, we arrived at the definition of the social Ape and the voluntary Ape, thus overcoming certain rigidities of the Fornero law without breaking the public accounts.
Incentives have been introduced to develop company bargaining and welfare, while the change of jobs has been allowed without loss of wages, thus permitting those organizational reforms in the factory which are a fundamental element for obtaining increases in productivity.
Sure many things, like the Rei, to fight poverty have been done late, but surely a well-functioning machine has been developed that could easily be refinanced to reach the majority of people living in abject poverty. After all, this is what the associations that follow poverty are asking for, which instead fear that the basic income, by confusing poverty and unemployment, could call everything into question.
Finally Europe, reforms, and how to play the role of our country in discussions to advance the construction of Brussels. Both the preface by Maurizio Ferrera and Leonardi's book close on this theme. We must fully regain our place in Europe, helping to advance the proposals that various countries are discussing on the governance of the Union. To do this we must be "credible, keep public finances in order, concentrating the resources available on all those expenses that would allow an increase in our "growth potential". Only in this way will we be able to ask for the support of other countries for our investments. And we will advance integration on crucial sectors such as defense and banking solidarity.
Taking steps back from our belonging to Europe and at the same time dreaming of overcoming all our weaknesses by locking ourselves up within our ancient borders would be a tragic mistake. Certainly the reforms shouldn't be scary. Changes must be promoted by ensuring a robust safety net. But Italians want to enjoy the fruits of modernity. We need to know how to offer them an acceptable dream and a convincing path to get there.
