No sector will be spared from the spending review. This was announced by Carlo Cottarelli, the extraordinary commissioner for the review of public spending appointed by the government to cut 32 billion in three years.
In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Cottarelli stated that “neither health care, nor pensions, nor public employment, nor public companies such as Rai will remain outside the scope of the spending review. This does not mean that there is a need to cut or save everywhere but that we must look at all realities without assuming that there are some without waste to eliminate”.
The preliminary investigation has just started with the formation of 25 working groups, he reports, but the concrete measures will not arrive before March-April.
The first wastes to be eliminated will be blue cars and the savings will mainly be used to lighten the tax wedge. Then it will be up to the state: the turn-over block used so far "could be the best solution but there could be other ways that we have not yet studied". Gold and silver pensions will also need to be reviewed. “I know there are constitutional difficulties, but there is a choice to make,” Cottarelli said.
