The Minister of Economy and Finance freezes Lega and Movimento 5 Stelle in one fell swoop. From Luxembourg, where he is engaged in his first Ecofin, Giovanni Tria excludes that for 2018 Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini will be able to keep their most important electoral promises on citizen's income and flat tax.
“We'll move on structural interventions that have no cost but they are very important, how to get public investments off the ground", explained the minister, answering a question on the entry into force of the basic income in 2018. Translated into simple terms, both measures, which cost a lot of billions, remain outside the government agenda, at least for this year. "The games are already done," says Tria.
The cost of the basic income is currently unknown (also because the pentastellati proposal seems to change from week to week), but, based on the calculations of the experts, it would from 15 to 30 billion euros the year. The "flat tax", on the other hand, would require even 50 - at least - for 12 months, not exactly measures capable of being included under the heading "structural interventions that have no costs" indicated by the owner of the MEF. Salvini and Di Maio will therefore be forced for 2018 to dissatisfy their electorate who flocked to the polls on March 4, attracted precisely by the two great (and very expensive) promises of the two leaders. It is probably for this reason that both seek to shift the axis of government towards migrants, Roma, Saviano and anything else that can distract the attention of public opinion.
Among other things, Tria's words belie what was stated in recent days by the Minister of the Interior who had instead reassured his constituents about the implementation of the flat tax by the end of the year. But they also deny Di Maio that just today he had returned to the position of basic income by introducing a novelty: to have it it will be necessary to work 8 hours a week, a condition never circulated previously.
The Economy Minister also clarified what our country's commitments will be in terms of public finance: "The intention - explained the number one in via XX Settembre - is to try to meet the 0,3% commitment, calculations are being made that a small deviation from the commitment, which the Commission already expects, would result from the fact that 0,3% depends on a favorable macroeconomic framework, of course there is now a slowdown across the EU, there they may be small deviations”, but “in essence the economic lines do not change”.
On the basis of what was stated by the vice president of the EU Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, the minister would also commit himself also on the debt front: "In positive times for the economy, it is necessary reduce debt and deficit to regain room for budgetary maneuver and this is especially true for a country with a high debt: this was a question that I addressed with Minister Tria who reaffirmed Italy's commitment to reduce the debt”.
