Manoeuvre, it is a battle of amendments in the majority: Fi aims at the concordato bis, the League at cutting the Rai licence fee

While the hearings on the manoeuvre continue in the Chamber's budget committee, the parties have started to file amendments (the deadline is 11 November, but the date they are looking at is mainly 18 November for the 'reported'). The League, for example, has tabled an amendment to the Budget law to restore the reduction of the Rai licence fee from 90 to 70 euro, as provided for in last year's manoeuvre. This was stated in a note from the party's press office. 'An intervention that we feel is right and proper,' commented the Lega Lega parliamentarians in the Vigilance Committee, 'also in light of the fact that it is time for the public service to improve without further burdening citizens. We will not stop in this battle and we will go ahead with its progressive reduction until its definitive abolition in order to favour the transition to a company capable of staying on the market".

An issue, that of the RAI licence fee on which a clash is looming in the majority between the Carroccio and Forza Italia, who are against the cut. 'Rai cannot be weakened, we need a strong public service. Everyone,' he added, 'does what they think is right, we respect that, there is no need to argue but' the cut in the licence fee is not part of the government agreement. We are against it, and our position does not change. It is normal for everyone to try to put their own priorities on the table, then a balance will be found, taking into account the needs of all,' says Forza Italia national spokesman Raffaele Nevi.

But the League is also preparing to submit amendments on other issues. Among other things, the Carroccio is calling for the extension of the payment in instalments for VAT registered companies and to raise from 85,000 to 100,000 euro the ceiling of revenues and remuneration for holders of VAT registered companies (professionals and businesses) to whom the flat tax with a reduced rate of 15% applies. The latter measure, however, would require a prior derogation from EU rules and must take into account public finance balances.

Increase the minimum pensions, greater reduction of Irpef, no to the web tax that instead of the 'web giants' will hit SMEs and online newspapers, no to the obligation to impose ministerial auditors for companies that receive contributions from the State, no to the freeze on the turnover of the police force. These are the main requests for changes to the manoeuvre by Forza Italia. Requests 'made official' by the secretary Antonio Tajani, who today in an interview with 'Il Giornale'. While Raffaele Nevi, Fi's national spokesperson, added to Adnkronos: 'We propose extending the terms of the composition agreement in order to obtain more resources. We want to increase minimum pensions in this way, reduce the Irpef rate on the middle class from 35 to 33 per cent, and avoid putting stakes on the turnover of the police force, because we believe there is a need for more security, with better trained, younger and more adequate soldiers for the challenges we face every day'. Will you be presenting ad hoc amendments soon? 'We will discuss it with the government, with Minister Giorgetti and within the majority,' Nevi assures.

The Minister for Relations with Parliament, Luca Ciriani, applied the handbrake. "All manoeuvres can be improved and this one is no exception. We will all confront each other with the majority parties. It is clear that the path is very narrow,' he explains, 'because the margins of correction are those indicated by Minister Giorgetti, which are quite narrow, but we will confront each other as we have always done. 'Amendment activity is not a question of quantity but of quality,' he clarified. 'When I said that I hope there are not so many amendments, I did not mean that parliamentarians should not do their job but that sometimes it is better to focus on things that can be useful rather than to present so many amendments that unfortunately have no chance of being accepted because there is a lack of financial coverage.