Giorgia Meloni defends Italy’s interest: let’s go ahead with our heads held high

An hour and a half of questions, eight parliamentary issues ranging from migrants to tax authorities via Mes, European Stability Mechanism and energy. It was an intense afternoon for Giorgia Meloni yesterday at the Chamber.
migrants

Promptly at 3:00 pm, the first question is presented by Riccardo Magi, secretary of +Europa, the theme is the usual one that has occupied the pages of all newspapers in recent weeks: migrants. Specifically, “clarifications on the story of the report to the Italian authorities of a boat loaded with migrants off the coast of Libya on the night between 10 and 11 March 2023”, where 30 people died. The opposition, after an initial moment in which they blindly attacked, attributing the tragedy to the government, had to adjust their shot. The reconstruction of history established that the area where the accident occurred was not Sar, a search and rescue area, under Italian jurisdiction, but Libyan; not only did it emerge that despite the fact that Italy was not responsible, our country still coordinated the rescue efforts. Thus, the oppositions move from the accusation to the question: “Have you done enough?”. The prime minister responds with the words of Gianluca D’Agostino, head of the Coast Guard operations center who recalled how: “When we understood that the Libyan coast guard was not going to intervene, we assumed coordination, even if it was Malta’s turn “. Adding how: “no one can force me not to save lives at sea, not even a minister, because the legal responsibility would be mine”.
Power

After the Magi, Angelo Bonelli of the Italian Green-Left Alliance begins with a question asking for clarification on the «government strategy in the field of energy to achieve the climate objectives established by the European Union and the intentions regarding the use of nuclear fission plants» . In other words: why doesn’t the government accept the latest European environmental regulations? Meloni replies: «Basically two principles drive us: environmental sustainability must never be dissociated from economic and social sustainability and, once emission reduction targets have been defined, technological neutrality must be ensured», recalling the actions taken to carried out by the government from “renewable energy communities to simplification for the installation of renewable sources plants” passing through the “water crisis control room”.

month

Then, it is the turn of Luigi Marattin, from Action-Italia Viva, who asks when Italy will ratify the reform of the Treaty that establishes the Mes, the European Stability Mechanism. The Prime Minister responds using the words of the president of Confindustria, Carlo Bonomi, historically a great supporter of the MES instrument, who says verbatim: «if we believe that the new regulation on the MES is not in the national interest of the country, an adequate fund for face the challenges, then it should be time to discuss its use as an instrument of European industrial policy. That is why Meloni underlines how the executive wants to “discuss the general framework of European governance and the possibility that the resources, which today are intended to “save States”, can be really useful to the States that adhere”.
Interest rate increase

The time has come for the 5 stars, Francesco Silvestri, leader of the group in the Chamber, calls for the taxation of extra bank profits to mitigate the “increase in interest rates and the related effects on families and companies”. Meloni responds by recalling the Superbonus that “has also allowed the proliferation of an opaque and ungoverned market for the circulation of tax credits, to the benefit of various intermediaries, including financial ones”.
Minimum wage

The parliamentary issues of the oppositions end with Elly Schlein, the secretary of the Democratic Party, who tries to “snatch” the 5 Star Movement from the legal minimum wage, but also from the “equal leave”. An involuntary assistance that Meloni does not take long to understand. “It is true – says the prime minister – there is a problem, whoever has governed until now has unfortunately impoverished Italian workers and this government must do everything possible to reverse the trend”. To then explain how the minimum wage is not only not the solution, but how it can become a double-edged sword for workers. If it “becomes a single parameter, it runs the risk of worsening the conditions of many workers”, becoming “a favor to large economic concentrations, which should revise workers’ rights downwards”. The solution is “to cut taxes on labor, because the reason why wages are inadequate is that taxation is too high for the companies that have to hire and work them to combat discrimination and irregularities”.