«The deputies absent? Serious mistake. There is no fear of numbers in the Chamber»- Corriere.it

He, Minister for Relations with Parliament, was not in the Chamber at the time of the crime, Thursday afternoon: «No, I was in the Senate to vote for the Def. And also because it is the most delicate Chamber: the difference in votes with the opposition is much smaller and the risk on certain votes can be high”. And Luca Ciriani really didn’t expect a disaster like that of the unjustified absences that led to the rejection of the Def, the first time in history since the constitutional law decided that the budget variance should be voted on by an absolute majority: «No one had any inkling that it could happen».

Isn’t that a mistake? Wasn’t it necessary to check if the numbers were sufficient?

“Honestly, it was impossible to imagine something like this happening. The deputies had been notified by email, by whatsapp, in party chats, by group leaders, by departments. You can guess what happened.”

That is to say?

«In the Chamber, unlike the Senate, there is the feeling and by now the habit of having a large majority, and this can lead to irresponsible behaviour. At Palazzo Madama, fear and tension are constant. Not at Montecitorio, unfortunately many thought that their absence would have caused nothing, as there were many others in the Chamber to vote”.

And isn’t it serious?

«It is very serious, there is no justification. President Meloni was rightly angry: you are working tirelessly for the country, you were in an important bilateral agreement, these things are certainly not pleasant ».

To explain the rejection, Minister Giorgetti said that “deputies don’t know or don’t realize it”. Is that so?

«I sincerely believe that they should know and should realize what they vote for. There may be inexperience, but it cannot justify absences or delays: if you are a deputy you must know what the Def is ».

In FdI, absences were contained, much higher than those of Northern League and Azzurri: what does this mean?

«I would not throw the cross at this or that group, we are a majority and we must always act united. The behavior of those who missed the vote was very serious, both for the experts and for those in their first term”.

But are you sure that there isn’t some political message behind the absences?

“Yes. It’s useless to look for background or strange interpretations, unfortunately that’s how it went, reality is more banal than imagination. We have had some tension at other times, such as on the seaside resorts when there were negotiations between the majority and the government, but this time really not ».

There are those who, like the group leader of FdI Foti, have also given responsibility to the opposition: absences, abstentions instead of the yes which often comes due to a budget variance. Agree?

«They are real objections, but in this case I don’t feel like giving responsibility to the opposition. The opposition does its job, we do ours. And it is up to the majority to ensure that their measures have the votes and are self-sufficient”.

In short, it’s your fault.

«It is not a question of guilt, but we must apologize to the Italians who cannot and must not see shows of this kind. They ask us for responsibility and we have to demonstrate it. We are all a team. We need our maximum commitment ».

Do you think that a modification of the regulations is appropriate, given that Parliament has had a cut of a third of the parliamentarians?

«Regardless of this vote, which has nothing to do with it, I believe that a modification of the regulation of the Chamber would be needed, which, unlike the Senate, has never renewed it. Now there are different procedures, and this complicates the work for everyone. But it is a parliamentary and not a government matter, so we will absolutely not enter into it ».

Minister Ciriani, hasn’t the fact that you were told you were “ready” to govern throughout the electoral campaign turning against you? On Pnrr, on some votes like this, it seems that you weren’t so ready to govern.

“Governing is difficult for everyone, especially in Italy. On the Pnrr we have not only inherited it, but we discount the effects of the conflict in Ukraine and also the structural problems of our country, in spending European funds. But I would remember what was said when we arrived.’

What?

«That we would have been overwhelmed by a hopeless crisis, that energy costs would have sent the country to hell, the scenarios were frightening. Instead, we have been able to better deal with the expensive bills, and it is a victory for the Meloni government, we are moving on the front of work, tax cuts and on the Pnrr itself we know that it is a difficult path but we will take all the funds that are due to us ».

So the journey fully satisfies you?

«I’ll just mention one figure: Istat has just announced that the expected GDP growth for 2023 is double that forecast, 1.8% instead of the 0.9% expected. It seems to me a great result. Oh, and one more thing.’

Please.

“I wanted to point out that the government is not on vacation, on May 1 we are ready to launch new measures in the Council of Ministers and tomorrow there is a meeting between the government and the trade unions”.

In short, the government works and instead the Parliament…

“We will all work, the Italians are sure of that.”