Manoeuvre, Meloni reassures Forza Italia on the revaluation of minimum pensions. And defends Sangiuliano

Minimum pensions officially enter the menu of the next manoeuvre. "Minimum pensions is one of our priorities," assured Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, host of '4 di Sera' on Rete4. The defence of minimum pensions is a theme dear to the government ally Forza Italia. Meloni recalled that in two years the government had worked 'for a full revaluation of all pensions up to 2,270 euro, ensuring that they were fully adjusted to the cost of living' and had also guaranteed 'a 120% revaluation for minimum pensions, which had grown significantly'. The drafting of the menu of the Budget law is focusing not only on tax relief, but also on measures to support those who hire and create work. It is difficult, therefore, that the maxi-deduction for companies that hire, due to expire at the end of the year, will be renounced. While work is being done to remodel fringe benefits, with the hypothesis of a single ceiling for all at 1,500-2,000 euro.

Meanwhile, on a political level, the opposition forces are increasing their pressure on the executive over the Sangiuliano case: parliamentary questions on the one hand and fears over the possible repercussions on the organisation of the G7 Culture Ministers' Meeting to be held from 19 to 21 September between Naples and Pompeii on the other. The mystery surrounding the case of the Culture Minister's failed 'consultant' Maria Rosaria Boccia is deepening, but Meloni has defended Sangiuliano and assured that the affair will have no consequences for the event's safety. The holder of the ministry, the premier reconstructed, 'guarantees me that this person did not have access to any confidential documents, particularly regarding the G7, and above all guarantees me that not a single euro of Italian and public money was spent on this person'. Above all, 'these are the things that interest me for government profiles, then I leave the gossip to others because I do not feel I should comment on it'.

"Is the G7 culture still safe?" the PD attacked. The M5s also asked how it could be possible that Sangiuliano's 'non-councillor' 'received emails with sensitive information from Culture Ministry officials, moreover on an unprotected account'. "We are facing a very serious situation that demonstrates serious organisational flaws on which we ask for clarity and for all the necessary investigations to be carried out, including by the Farnesina and the Ministry of the Interior,' said the Democratic group leader in the Chamber's Culture Committee, Irene Manzi, who did not even rule out the possibility of a possible 'financial loss for the administration'. And Italia Viva senator Ivan Scalfarotto even asked for an opinion from the cybersecurity authority. On the other hand, Maria Rosaria Boccia herself has not stopped sending out messages. She has continued to publish posts and images on social networks: after pointing the finger at the ministry's communication staff, she has extended suspicions about the possible 'moles' who allegedly spread the incriminated e-mail. Boccia replied directly to the prime minister that she had been reassured about Boccia's absence at sensitive meetings on the G7 Culture Summit, with the publication of two documents relating to the event. These would be two pages, of which only the header could be read, relating to the part 'Culture: global public good, global responsibility' and the 'working sessions (4 sessions of one hour each)'. And then he criticised the president of the Council who had only made a general reference to him: 'This person has a name, a surname and a title,' Boccia wrote.

'I think it is important to stress that never a euro from the ministry, not even for a coffee, has been used for Dr. Boccia's travels and stays'. Thus Sangiuliano in a letter published by La Stampa regarding the controversy over the alleged appointment of Maria Rosaria Boccia as consultant. The minister continued, "The G7 Culture Ministers' Meeting will be held in Naples, at the Royal Palace. At first it was actually planned to hold the international event in the enchanting Positano, but already in the early months of the year, as the ministry's correspondence shows, before my acquaintance with Dr. Boccia, it was decided to move it to Naples for logistical and organisational reasons and to contain spending. Pompeii was only involved, from the beginning, for the organisation of a cultural event: a classical music concert with a visit to the excavations'.

'Never spent a euro from the ministry? I have never paid anything, I have always been told that the ministry reimbursed the expenses of councillors so much so that all trips have always been organised by the minister's chief secretary'. This is how Boccia responded to Minister Sangiuliano's words in La Stampa. And to the minister's claims that she had never taken part in operational meetings on the G7, she said: 'So we never had operational meetings? Inspections? We never exchanged information?"