“This Council is not a script, concrete acts”. The choice not to hold the press conference – Corriere.it

After the Council of Ministers, with the work decree and the bill that sends the basic income to the archive, Giorgia Meloni remained in her studio in Palazzo Chigi “to work”. An obvious response to those who accuse her of having put on “a scene” on the day of the workers’ day. “I am absolutely convinced that I was right to launch today a provision with a strong symbolic value – this is the state of mind of the leader of the right – I am proud of this day”. The first reason is that her opponents, in the union and in the opposition parties, “are all in a lot more difficulty than me”. Because in the end her government managed to reduce the cost of labor “by six, seven points in six months, and they don’t know what to say”.

Yet the press conference danced between yes and no until this morning, when the prime minister decided not to summon journalists. Perhaps so as not to spend too much on overtime, or perhaps for a much more political reason: not to provide the unions with opportunities and pretexts to regroup after Sunday’s misalignment. Landini harsh, Bombardieri critical and Sbarra more open to dialogue, hovering between appreciation for the cut in the tax wedge and some stinging about the method of the founder of Fratelli d’Italia. And there is another reason why Meloni has chosen not to appear in front of notebooks, microphones and cameras on a day with such a strong impact. Because on Sunday evening, during the meeting in the Sala Verde, Landini, Sbarra and Bombardieri complained in advance, making public the suspicion that the premier had organized everything “to cover up, with the CDM and with the press conference”, their speeches from May Day stage. And so the Council Presidency multipurpose room remained closed. Meloni, who denies the intention of wanting to obscure “the triple” and the Concertone, but is happy to have “displaced the unions on cutting the wedge”, has decided to let the measures speak and with his staff has made a video from send to information sites and tiggì.

The controversy over whether to hold the Council of Ministers on May 1st, with Landini accusing Meloni of arrogance and she responding harshly, asking the unions “why don’t you move the big concert then”, did not end with the meeting-clash on Sunday evening in the Sala Verde. Giorgia Meloni, presenting the work decree to the ministers, started from there: «This CDM is not a drama, it is a very concrete act in honor of the workers. By cutting the tax wedge we give more money to those on low incomes, so I find it really strange that the unions are not happy». She had also said it to Landini, Sbarra and Bombardieri: «We are in two different worlds. I would have expected a “well done!”». To the unions, who recognize “the right direction” but complain that the benefit of the cut will last only six months, the Melonians respond by recalling that “even Renzi’s 80 euros before becoming “structural” were temporary”. The Prime Minister told Landini, Sbarra and Bombardieri that if Italy continues to grow more than the Eurozone average, “additional resources” will be found to meet their requests. But always “continuing with a prudent budgetary policy”. The rest will be done by Parliament, with Meloni who, the collaborators assure, “has left room for maneuver both for the parties and for the unions”.

The Council of Ministers has not only dealt with work. Also at the urging of the Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, two of the protagonists of the “brilliant operation to save our compatriots in Sudan”, the ambassador Michele Tommasi and the head of the Crisis Unit of the Farnesina, Nicola Minasi, were promoted to minister plenipotentiary.