Draghi: “The economy is growing but there are risks. New social pact to defend wages and pensions "

Tension in the government with the aid dl that will be on Thursday in the Senate to be converted into law. Concern in the majority because the M5S remains an unknown and Giuseppe Conte said to "wait for answers from Mario Draghi as soon as possible".

Answers that came in the premier's conference with the ministers of Labor, Andrea Orlando , and of Economic Development, Giancarlo Giorgetti .

It will then be up to the M5S to decide whether to stay in government or take a step back. And Di Maio urges: "M5s tell if it is inside or outside".

On the table are the tax wedge , the fight against job insecurity and the minimum wage , priorities on which Draghi must find a square with the grillini.

A new meeting is then expected between the premier and Giuseppe Conte.

THE PRESS CONFERENCE - "In recent months I have called for a new social pact to manage the phase we are going through and will go through in the coming months. The purpose of the pact is the continuation of growth and the protection of purchasing power for workers, pensioners and families. The Italian economy continues to grow but forecasts are full of risks, first of all an increase in the cost of living ", the words of Prime Minister Mario Draghi at the opening of the press conference.

“ Inflation erodes the purchasing power of households and affects the costs of businesses. Action is needed to tackle the issue of employment and inequalities, and to defend pensions and wages. To do this, the government must be fully involved with the social partners ".

SOCIAL PARTNERS AND COMPARISON - "In today's meeting with the trade unions we first of all established a working method - continued Draghi -: we plan meetings on a series of topics , energy first of all, the transformation of important production sectors, such as automotive and steel, then the PNRR, on which there is a permanent table but we want to make it more active and important, and then the budget law. But also a table on insecurity, in the light of the latest data that emerged in recent days ".

“Key issues are collective agreements and tax wedge , reduction of the tax burden for workers”, Draghi then specified. “We therefore agreed to meet again in two weeks when the Government will present a substantial provision and, before discussing it in the Council of Ministers, there will be another meeting with the social forces.

“As for collective agreements, we have to renew those that have expired”, said Draghi. And to act also in the interest of those who are not covered by collective agreements. "Collective bargaining is one of the strengths of our industrial model, it is not acceptable that some contracts have expired for 3 or 9 years". "Today at European level - he added - the directive on the minimum wage has been approved and the government intends to move in this direction".

"NO OTHER DRAGHI GOVERNMENT" - "When I read the document in 9 points of the 5 Star Movement ", said Draghi, answering a question, "I found many points of convergence with the government agenda ".
The premier also spoke of the meeting with Letta, which took place a few minutes before the press conference: "We faced the political situation", he said, without "good or bad news" arriving from the Democratic Party.

"I have already said that for me there is no government without M5s and there is no Draghi government other than the current one, this is the situation" Draghi clarified, reiterating how despite the "fibrillations" even in this period the government is proceeding with its action.

THE FOREIGN PRESS DINNER - A relaxed Mario Draghi who took part in the dinner of the foreign press. “It is a great pleasure to be here with you today. Thank you for the invitation to this world premiere, the first dinner of the foreign press association, a splendid initiative inspired by colleagues from the USA. You started off well with a former central banker - he said introducing his joke -. I am reminded of the story of a man who is waiting for a heart transplant. They tell him that the heart of a 25-year-old in splendid shape and that of an 86-year-old central banker are available. 'I choose the latter,' says the man. 'And why?'. 'Because it has never been used!' ".

“In the first months of this government, many wrote that this executive coincided with a magical moment. The Maneskin, Berrettini, the European final, the medals at the Olympics, the Nobel Prize in physics to Giorgio Parigi. A series of events like this had never been seen before. From that moment on everything went very well - he ironized -: Italy did not qualify for the World Cup, we finished sixth at Eurovision, Berrettini took Covid and did not play at Wimbledon and I live in terror that the Swedish academy think again about Parisi ... ".

Then he explained why in the past he had to decline some interviews with correspondents: "It is not a question of reluctance to communicate. As you have seen from some photos at the Prado museum, I really love being on the phone", self-irony. "The truth is that I wanted your invitation to dinner. Now I will return the favor very calmly." Finally, addressed to foreign correspondents: "I wish you to continue working like this, between a cappuccino in the sun, an aperitif in the square. The correspondent in Italy is hard work but someone will have to do it ...".

(Unioneonline / vl)