Utility bills, infrastructure and the new ANAC leadership: the issues on the Council of Ministers’ agenda

The new Utility Bills Decree could receive the go-ahead from the Council of Ministers this afternoon. However, the Infrastructure Decree-Law is also expected to be on the government’s agenda, featuring the temporary suspension of the recovery of advance payments in public works contracts. Finally, a decision could be reached on the appointment of the new leadership of the ANAC, the National Anti-Corruption Authority, following the League politician’s Nuccio Altieri from the League.

All this whilst hearings are getting under way in the House of Commons on budget bill. Over 30 organisations are expected to appear before the Budget Committee in a single day, ranging from students to the third sector, from insurance companies to the construction and property sectors, right up to the Court of Auditors. Each has its own requests for changes and amendments. The deadline for submitting amendments is 17 November.

Following two postponements, the Council of Ministers is now expected to approve the revised energy bills decree, agreed with the EU. This should be the right time. The measure aims to reduce electricity tariffs by capping the price of gas. The latest delay, last Thursday, is said to have been due to objections raised by the State Audit Office regarding a secondary provision. No substantial changes are expected to the core of the decree, namely the provision capping the price of gas for electricity generation at around 59 euros per megawatt-hour, modelled on the Iberian ‘tope’ system.

There is a certain sense of urgency surrounding ANAC: the term of office of the current president, Giuseppe Busia, who has been in post since 2020, has expired and cannot be renewed. The only certainty is that, when it comes to his successor, there is no room for errors or slip-ups regarding political incompatibility. And the diktat appears to be coming directly from the upper echelons of government, circulating within the ruling coalition. By law, the president is nominated by the Minister for Public Administration in consultation with the Minister for Justice and the Minister for the Interior, and must have the approval of the opposition. In fact, the favourable opinion of the relevant parliamentary committees is required, with a quorum of two-thirds of members and expressed promptly (probably next week, if the appointment were to take place today). The candidate’s CV will therefore be crucial; by law, they should have no direct political involvement. Legislative Decree No. 150 of 2009 is clear: ‘The Chair and members of the Authority may not be chosen from among persons holding elected public office or positions within political parties or trade unions, or who have held such offices or positions in the preceding three years.’