The government's about-face on pensions. After a day of discontent, embarrassment, and accusations of the classic "little hands" that have always been responsible for unpopular or inconvenient decisions by many governments, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni put a stop to the situation and announced in the Chamber that the government will reverse its pension crackdown.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) is reportedly already working on the amendment. Meloni says the retroactive cuts on degree buy-backs will be eliminated. It remains to be seen whether the restrictions on student loan windows will also be amended. This is what the League is asking, having submitted an amendment to repeal both provisions, proposing a possible increase in IRAP (regional business tax) as a safeguard clause starting in 2033.
Meloni, responding to the point in the Chamber, thus puts an end to the latest "issue" surrounding the budget. Moreover, since early this morning, numerous disapprovals have been registered within the majority regarding the measure. The blame lies with "an overzealous technician," to quote the League's Claudio Borghi, the budget rapporteur, and with "a bureaucrat from the Ministry of Economy and Finance," accuses Armando Siri, a man close to Matteo Salvini. "As long as the League is in government, there has never been a measure that raises the retirement age," he attacks, adding that political decisions are up to Parliament, not "yet another small hand."
But Forza Italia is also expressing doubts. "It's a crackdown that starts in 2030," says Forza Italia spokesman Raffaele Nevi. "We'll discuss it calmly with the government, we'll discuss it."
Meanwhile, the opposition is on the barricades. "Their pension crackdown," attacks Democratic Party secretary Elly Schlien, "is a theft from both the young and the old. Shame on you!"
(Unioneonline)
