"It is a good thing that a political solution was preferred: at least those who won the elections of March 4 will be in a position to assume responsibility towards the voters". Bruno Tabacci, re-elected on 4 March in the Chamber with +Europe in the Pd coalition in the central Milan constituency and spoke yesterday at the Trento Festival of Economics, commented on FIRSTonline the Executive who had just taken office: “It will be evaluated for what it will do. I hope not to see any more of the slip-ups of the last few weeks: from the declarations on Mps, to the famous 250 billion debt to be repaid by the ECB, up to some industrial dossiers such as that of Ilva. All moves that have triggered a fall in credibility”. Here is his interview.
The statements of the last few weeks, even if later denied, by representatives of the League and the Five Stars and some of the points of the government contract, have greatly worried the markets. However, the new Minister of Economy, Tria, has ruled out that Italy can ever ask to leave the euro. Will the financial markets and the European Union calm down?
“Markets are calmer now, but they will only be until the facts are verified. Sooner or later this government will have to make clear-cut decisions, it will no longer be enough to make statements and then, if anything, deny them or stall for time. There are deadlines that cannot be postponed and I am thinking, for example, of the VAT safeguard clauses, to prevent its increase in 2019. There are those who think that a VAT increase would not be so negative, but what is the definitive position of the Government? Are you able to say with certainty what you will do?”.
What do you think of the contract for the so-called "government of change"?
“It is evidently a program without coverage and in my opinion also wrong on some points. I am thinking above all of the Fornero law: there is talk of dismantling it, as if it were still the law approved in 2012, in a situation of total emergency. It has since been revised several times and there are safeguards for some difficult situations: it is currently an acceptable law, it has been remedied. After all, the average life expectancy has lengthened, we cannot continue to think that this has no consequences”.
And on citizen's income and flat tax, how do you position yourself? Between the two rules, which contradict each other and which are unlikely to be both feasible, which do you consider more affordable?
“The basic income, if interpreted as a reduction of the gap between those who have work and those who do not have any, with the possibility of a livelihood but above all by focusing on training for reintegration, can be fine. The flat tax convinces me much less: at the moment it would only increase social and economic inequalities, and above all I believe that no tax reform, even before talking about rates, can ignore the issue of tax evasion. In this country there is too much propensity, shall we say, for fiscal non-fidelity”.
What considerations do you feel like making on the team of ministers?
“Mattarella's intervention was important. The appointment of Moavero Milanesi as foreign minister is positive: he has already been a minister with the Monti government and it is a guarantee. The others will have to be evaluated on the facts. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte? All to be verified. It will be important for him to present himself as an autonomous figure and not just as an executor of a program ”.
Recently the former minister Carlo Calenda proposed to create a republican front under whose banners gather all the political forces - of the left, of the center and of the moderate right (therefore also a part of Forza Italia) - willing to lead an opposition battle democracy in defense of the Constitution, the independence of President Mattarella and the secure permanence of Italy in Europe and in the euro: what do you think? Is it a viable perspective?
“Honestly, I think this idea would have been useful in case of an immediate return to the polls. If we had gone to elections immediately in the summer, it would have made sense to unite on some issues, to face the populist bloc. Now, however, this hypothesis has been averted, so I believe that the oppositions have plenty of time to regroup, making serious and broader reflections ".
+Europe what kind of opposition will it do?
"What is in our spirit, that is, bringing the theme of Europe to the center of the debate, especially in view of the 2019 European elections, which will be a crucial appointment".
Even if officially denied, the temptation always snakes in the air and some of the electorate don't mind: but can you really imagine an Italy outside Europe?
“There aren't the numbers to do such an operation. In the 70s, the world's population was just over a third of its current size. Today we are more than 7 billion and Italy is a country of 60 million inhabitants: do we really think we can do it alone? Do our companies, especially those in the North, Lombardy and Veneto, really think of closing themselves in the domestic market and giving up international markets, which have always been their strength through exports? MPS itself, the first bank founded in the 400s, grew large by selling throughout the continent. Look at the British with Brexit: most of them, if they could, would go back and would prefer to stay within a wider guarantee context, such as the European one”.
