The budget is delayed, with the Government navigating a tightrope between reduced resources and negotiations with the EU

After more than two hours, the announcement came: the approval of the budget bill by the Council of Ministers will be ‘postponed by a few days’, probably until 28 October, beyond the date of 23 October initially envisaged. Officially, this is to take account of the outcome of discussions with Brussels to ‘secure greater flexibility’; unofficially, it is also because the issue of prioritisation has by no means been resolved. The same applies to the 5 billion contribution the Government expects from the financial sector.

The coalition summit on the budget between Giorgia Meloni and her allies – Antonio Tajani for Forza Italia, Matteo Salvini for the League, Maurizio Lupi for Noi Moderati – together with the Minister for the Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti – was ‘preliminary’, according to several sources. It came, moreover, at the end of a complex day, which had begun with an assessment of the devastation caused during the demonstrations in Milan, Turin and Bologna and had continued with the lorry drivers’ protest against high fuel prices. An explosive mix of discontent that makes the path to passing the budget bill an uphill struggle: the budget allocation of 23.4 billion, of which 14.4 billion stems from the authorised extra deficit for energy and defence spending, appears increasingly meagre in the face of the challenges ahead and increasingly less useful from an ‘electoral’ perspective.

The government and the majority face a difficult task: trying to select the most effective measures, both in absolute terms and in terms of political support, in order to put together a ‘worthy’ draft to present to the Council of Ministers. The meeting began with a discussion on the talks with the European Commission, both regarding investments that can be financed through the budgetary deviation and, above all, on the request for further flexibility linked to inflation – an issue on which Meloni returned to the fray on Friday in Brussels with Ursula von der Leyen, describing herself as ‘optimistic’.

Of the 7.2 billion out of the 14.4 set aside for defence in 2027 – all the more so in light of the rising tensions on the streets – a sum will also be allocated for the recruitment and equipment of the police force. This is a gesture of support that the centre-right considers necessary and which could also involve changes to the pension system to compensate for the disadvantages faced by a group that retires earlier, having accrued fewer contributions.

There was no consensus on the 5 billion contribution from the banking and insurance sectors set out in the Draft Budgetary Plan. The Prime Minister, in line with Tajani, urged caution in the negotiations and in the tone adopted. This was an indirect warning to Salvini, who continues to take a hard line.