AS ITALIANS come to terms with prime minister Mario Monti’s €30 billion budget decree, agreed in cabinet on Sunday night and signed into law yesterday by President Giorgio Napolitano, Italy’s main parties find themselves in a de facto “like it or lump it” situation.
In the run-up to a vital EU summit in Brussels tomorrow and Friday, the major political forces, PDL on the right and PD on the left, seem resigned to accepting the budget decree despite serious reservations.
Senior PD figure Enrico Letta summed up the moment when saying yesterday that any lack of parliamentary support for the Monti budget could risk undoing the positive market effect of the measure itself.
Commentators expect a little-modified decree to be ratified in parliament by Christmas. Yesterday Italian bonds returned their biggest gains in four months, with German bonds falling below the symbolic 400 point mark for the first time in a month.
Inevitably, the parties, trade unions and public opinion all have serious reservations about a measure which, according to the CGIA Artisans lobby, will cost Italian families €6,400 in 2011-2014.
While many accept the need for the budget, others argue that the major measures introduced – property tax and pension reforms – penalise the “usual suspects”, essentially the middle classes and PAYE workers.
The Italy of Values Party, led by former magistrate Antonio Di Pietro, intends to vote against the budget, pointing out that Mr Monti’s measures have not touched on controversial issues such as €4.5 billion worth of TV frequencies, corruption, the cost of politics and income tax evasion.
Mr Monti last night completed a marathon “communications” effort when he went on state TV, using a programme often used by his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi, to explain his budget to Italians.