FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Meloni is violating all the rules of the parliament, it is the worst budget of all time!
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stuck to the script of Brussels, which presented a budget with tax cuts but did nothing to address concerns about crumbling infrastructure.
After several months of negotiations, the majority of Italian senators voted in favor of the approval of the 2025 draft budget, which will respect the rules of the European Union budget, while income from tax-profit would reach 30 billion euros.
Meloni has had to juggle bold election spending promises with Italy's chronic debt and aging population. Earlier this year, the pool of available funds was further limited after Italy was placed under a special monitoring program by the EU, requiring it to reduce the deficit by 0.5 percent each year.
But unlike in France and Germany, where budget disputes have led to bitter political disagreements and the downfall of both countries' governments, divisions in the opposition gave Meloni access to push her plans through the legislature.
Italy's prime minister even maneuvered through the successful end of a costly tax stimulus for homeowners, an increase in tax receipts and more favorable treatment of Italy by financial markets, which are now charging less interest on sovereign debt. of Rome.
"Imagine what would have happened if what happened in Germany happened in Italy," Nicola Calandrini, a senator with the ruling Brothers of Italy coalition, said at the final session in the upper house of the Italian Parliament.
" Instead, Italy is a reliable country, despite the opposition", he continued.
But critics complained that the budget was a new round of austerity measures. Along with around €11 billion in ministerial and municipal cuts over the next three years, education and research were left with little extra and a pension increase of just €1.90 a month, falling short of campaign promises.
More importantly, the increase in health care spending fell far short of the targets recommended by watchdogs and international bodies. In a daily podcast, Italian journalist Francesco Costa highlighted the lack of funds by telling the case of the death of a woman in Palermo who had to wait eight days to receive hospital service and no one did anything.
Budget planning was made more difficult by mounting problems in the manufacturing sector and a slower-than-expected response to a partial tax amnesty meant to encourage payment of back taxes. Much of the fiscal space, meanwhile, has been limited to EU funds earmarked for post-pandemic recovery programs, which have been disbursed more slowly than expected. A push to hit NATO's defense spending targets further squeezed available funds.
And yet, some argued that the government still found enough budget to meet less urgent - and more political - priorities.
Along with tax cuts and parental subsidies, a proposed surprise tax on banks was softened to avoid angering the pro-business wing of the ruling coalition. The purported imposition of a higher tax on cryptocurrency profits was slowed and delayed. Earlier this month, protests followed the mysterious addition (and equally mysterious withdrawal) of a rate that would have increased some ministers' salaries by €7,000.
"Another problem that will hit families living in economic difficulties in January, where costs will increase for more than 3 million people, many over 75 years old and with disabilities," said the head of the 5 Star Movement, Giuseppe Conte in a post on X.
"But you know, the high cost of living of the citizens is not a problem for this government, which prioritizes the difficulties of the "poor" ministers who demand salary increases", he continued.
"They are cutting spending on social services, health care, schools and public transport, but they are spending 15 billion euros on the bridge over the Strait of Messina and on investments in weapons. It is the worst budget of all time," the lawmaker added of the Green and Left Alliance, Angelo Bonelli.
Others opposed the bill being rushed through the Senate. Opposition lawmakers came armed with some 800 amendments, but were given almost no time to discuss them.
"Meloni is breaking all the rules of parliament ... you put the party before the country," Senator Matteo Renzi, head of the center-left Italia Viva party and a former Italian prime minister, said in a speech on Saturday./ Adapt "Pamphlet" from Politico.
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