Day of fire on the spending review. Today Prime Minister Mario Monti met with local authorities and trade unions, closing the dialogue phase that precedes the green light for the decree. The provision should be passed within this week by the Council of Ministers, as apparently announced by the Deputy Minister for the Economy, Vittorio Grilli, during the first meeting at Palazzo Chigi. And while the social partners threaten a strike against the reduction of civil servants, the Professor's tightrope must also withstand the jolts of the parties and those ministries that do not accept having their resources cut.
Even before the political issues, however, we must deal with i numeri. One of the prime goals of spending reviews is to save enough to avoid the automatic increase in VAT in October. How much should you set aside? Up to now there had been talks of 4,2 billion, but it is now clear that that sum will not be enough. “Two new needs have been added,” Monti said when speaking with representatives of local authorities. “The issue of the exodus and the earthquake” drove up the e the figure found with the spending review has become "much higher".
In any case, the Premier stressed that the incoming text it will not be a new Finance Law, but a package of structural measures to eliminate waste without reducing services. All with scalpel blows: “We are against linear cuts made with an ax”, assured the Professor.
As for the methods of intervention, Monti spoke of “three phases”: the first began last week with the cuts to the Prime Minister and the Treasury, the second corresponds to the decree in the pipeline and the third will arrive in a few weeks (again via decree) with the reorganization of the peripheral state administrations. For the representatives of the autonomies, the Premier would have ensured participation in the choices on the spending review.
Meanwhile, the survey of Public Administration personnel will be completed by October. At that point they will arrive the cuts, which will involve 20% of executives and 10% of second-level employees. This was announced by the Minister of Public Administration, Filippo Patroni Griffi, as reported by sources present at today's first summit. Non-replaceable redundant state workers could be made redundant for two years, with 80% of their salary. Sixty-year-olds will perhaps be allowed to retire with the old rules of the contribution, derogating from the Fornero reform.
"It is evident that if the government thinks of proceeding with the reduction of personnel and the reduction of services - said the leader of the CGIL, Susanna Camusso - it is throwing fuel on a very difficult situation".
