from 500,000 of Lollobrigida to 82,000 of the flows decree – Corriere.it

On March 9 the council of ministers will meet in Cutro and discuss the issue of migrants. A decision taken by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the wake of the emotion aroused by the massacre of migrants on February 28. But what can the executive discuss? Mattarella just today said that the time has come to make concrete decisions. There are two fronts of intervention: reception and legal entrances. On the second in particular, the most immediate path that can be taken is that of a flow decree that guarantees safe arrivals. But how many migrants does Italy need? They’ve been around for the last few days very divergent figures among them also within the Meloni government. Here they are in summary.

* Lollobrigida’s 500,000 – In recent days, the words spoken by the have caused a sensation minister of agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida, of Brothers of Italy. We will work for this year bring in almost 500,000 immigrants legally. This can also be organized through multilateral and bilateral agreements to support legal immigration, said the loyal to Giorgia Meloni coming out of a summit in Brussels. Surprising words also because for years FdI had maintained a very hard line against immigration, coming to theorize that behind the landings was hidden a ethnic replacement plan.

* The 82,000 of Piantedosi – The interior minister is preparing the new flows decreei.e. the provision thanks to which immediately hired non-EU immigrants will be able to enter Italy regularly. The quota set by Piantedosi is 82,705 visas: the highest number since 2007 but significantly lower than that hypothesized by Lollobrigida. In addition, the intention of the Viminale to put another brake: the hiring of foreigners will be allowed only after the unwillingness of residents in Italy to occupy that specific job has been ascertained. The click day set for March 27.

* Last year’s 200,000 – The flow decree of 2022 had been even more thrifty: just 62,000. However, once reservations opened within minutes within minutes over 200,000 requests rained down on the ministry’s website in just a few minutes. A sign that the demand from companies and households is far higher than that allowed by the government.

* The 400,000 of the Idos studio – But what the real need of foreign labor in Italy? The swirl of figures has been going on for years as entrepreneurial organizations (first in the North East, then throughout Italy) warn that there are not enough people to cover the job requests. A dossier elaborated in December 2021 from the Idos study center he formulated a figure: Italy would need them 400,000 new migrants on a permanent basis to offset the economic recovery on the one hand and the population decline given that the largest age groups, those born during the baby boom period, are retiring. In agriculture the phenomenon is already macroscopic: according to Coldiretti, one employee out of 4 (about 380,000) in the sector is already foreign.

* The air however changed – One thing now seems certain: the political climate surrounding the migrant emergency has rapidly changed. If until a few years ago the phenomenon was considered by the right as synonymous with invasion and disorderso much so that it borders on conspiracy theories, now the right-wing government (above all the Brothers of Italy) has changed its attitude and speaks of phenomenon to be managed: to satisfy the demands of the economic fabric but also so that tragedies like that of Cutro will never happen again. The resistance still comes from the League: until a few days ago, during the conversion of the decree on NGOs, the Carroccio parliamentarians had tried to restore some rules contained in the Salvini decree of the first Conte government.