The former is “polite, courteous, well-dressed” and in a sea of problems. The choice on the Mes, 36 billion fresh for Italy, is approaching and in Parliament there are neither the numbers nor the right climate: the reintroduction of the annuities has welded the sovereign and anti-Caste feelings. The other, also always attentive to elegance, would like to help him, in fact he has “a responsible attitude” and reasons in terms of “national interests”, even at the cost of separating himself from his center-right allies. But against math there is little to do. If not postpone.
Good, very good relationships between Giuseppe Conte and Silvio Berlusconi. The two have frequent and cordial conversations, but woe to say too much around, the Five Stars could get nervous. And so Palazzo Chigi must correct the Corriere della Sera. «The background according to which the Prime Minister would have had telephone conversations with the leader of Forza Italia is removed from any foundation. The Prime Minister, in his contacts and meetings with the opposition parties, prefers transparent methods “. So, contact yes, call no: will this half denial be enough to appease the grillini?
And Conte dances. In short, Covid, the economic crisis, the school, the late layoffs, social tensions, the quarrels in the majority were not enough, now Angela Merkel has started to ripple the waters of the government. The Chancellor will also have been a little rude in her pressure on the Mes, she would have done better to show herself more diplomatic, however she has exposed a real question: the sovereign front, which opposes the Save States because it considers it an antechamber to the Trojka arrival, has a large majority in Parliament. Let’s put down some figures. In the House, those in favor of the stability mechanism are on paper just 227: Pd, Italia Viva, Leu, plus Fi. The opposites, Lega, FdI and M5s, touch 361: not even all 42 of the mixed group could overturn the scenario. In the Senate, then, power relations are even more pitiless.
Among other things, this fearful sovereign majority of the EU coincides in numbers and tones with that which opposes the return of annuities to former parliamentarians. Lega, Fratelli d’Italia, and grillini are firm in the no to Mes and unleashed in what Vito Cimi has called “battle against privileges”. This is what Mariastella Gelmini, leader of the Forza Italia group in the Chamber of Deputies, is happy to say that “the coalition that holds Conte is not a political grouping but an artificial construction, which stands together for armchairs and power”.
On the important choices it divides. And it chooses not to decide, as is happening on European aid. Conte focuses on the Recovery Fund, but the mechanism is still to be defined, both as a method and as a volume of money. The sure thing is that it will not be available before 2021. The unspoken thing is that probably to access it Italy will first have to ask for MES funds. And let’s go back to the starting point: there are no numbers. It is hoped that the 5s will slowly give up as they did on the Tav and the Tap, but at the moment there are no conditions for an afterthought. A possible blue rescue will also be useless.
Hence the difficulties of the premier. Frau Merkel’s words to the Suddeutsche Zeitung forced him to specify that “the Italian government will take care of the Italian accounts”, a snap of pride that serves to calm the ultrà. A bone to dogs. Meanwhile, it takes time and looks for alternatives. «We started with Gualtieri and the heads of delegation to think about the range of possibilities – he explains – and we will update at the beginning of the week. Various measures are being studied with the Ministry of Economy. For example, Sure is an activated path, so we are likely to ask to participate in the program ».
If waiting for the Recovery Fund means preparing for a long wait with an uncertain outcome, accessing the Mes first is not possible. “No country has asked for it and Italy cannot be weak in the eyes of the world.” Then the carnet provides for the loan of 200 billion from the EIB and, even more interestingly, the one hundred support for employment of the Sure plan. Meanwhile, let’s take those, Conte told his ministers, then we’ll see. When? On the horizon, that is at least for the next three weeks, no commitment is expected on the Mes. Not even in mid-July, when the prime minister will speak in the chambers on the eve of the crucial European summit, will there be no clarity. This time Parliament will vote on Conte’s communications, too bad that the Save States will not appear in the majority resolution: there is no reason, it is the explanation that filters from Palazzo Chigi, not even the European Council has put it on the agenda.
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