PM launches 'TeleMeloni'. New duel with Schlein

Despite the proportional vote, the clash ahead of the European elections appears increasingly polarised. There is no TV duel for them, but the exchange of accusations and rebuttal between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and PD leader Elly Schlein is now daily. This time it is the Prime Minister who reintroduces her column, 'Giorgia's Notes', but provocatively rechristens it 'TeleMeloni', complete with a caption. 'The only TeleMeloni is this one,' he begins, 'the rest is fake news. The problem is not that there is TeleMeloni but that there is no longer TelePd, because we are doing real public service'. But it is at the end of the video that the premier comes down hardest, accusing Schlein of a lack of concreteness in arguing her accusations against the government.

Words to which the Dem leader narrowly replies while Giuseppe Conte also returns to challenge the Prime Minister and re-propose the TV challenge. Blue jacket and glance in the camera, the premier - after a point on the central issues of the political week, from the Superbonus to the redditometer to the agreement with Albania for the CPRs ("we are doing school") - delivers a direct question to Schlein. "The secretary of the PD," she punctuates, "said that I would be cancelling people's freedom, a singular accusation for someone who voted for measures to lock people in their homes in the pandemic, but I ask Schlein which are the freedoms cancelled by this government.

Meloni lists the premierate which is 'freedom to vote and the left is against it'; support for hiring and therefore 'freedom of enterprise'; help 'not having to choose between bringing a child into the world and work', i.e. 'freedom of choice'. 'Tell us something concrete,' is the invitation addressed to the Pd secretary, 'because freedom has always been limited only to the left and the point is that the citizens have understood this'. Schlein's reply was not long in coming: 'If you have a starvation wage and cannot pay the rent,' she stressed, 'you are not fully free, while the Meloni government is blocking the minimum wage proposal on which we are collecting signatures all over Italy and cancelling the 330 million in rent funds. And also entering the diatribe is former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. "Giorgia,' says the M5s leader, 'just to escape confrontation with me, now you're taking it out on Schlein for the pandemic closures. I'm sorry but what does Schlein have to do with it? She played no role. If you want to confront me on this let's meet at Mentana's or wherever you want and I'll explain everything'.

The PM, after her morning engagement with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, is back on social media in a week that has seen the majority fibrillate on more than one issue. Redditometer in primis but also the superbonus. With the allies - starting with Forza Italia - making themselves heard through clarifications and distinctions. The premier draws attention to both issues. On the redditometro, she explains that the choice of suspending the ministerial decree serves to reason on two hypotheses in the field: 'to totally overcome the synthetic assessment' for taxpayers or 'to circumscribe this tool to large-scale evasion'.

The Azzurri have, however, already put their choice on the table: a repealing amendment - underlines the leader of the group in the Senate Maurizio Gasparri - to 'cancel the outdated and outdated regulations establishing the redditometer'. On the other hand, as far as the Superbonus is concerned, Meloni reiterates that the last decree passed was necessary to continue to put another brake on the 'avalanche' caused by the bonus on public accounts. And even the 10-year deductibility, opposed by FI but defended by the Mef, "allows for a dilution of expenses for the State and is perfectly consistent with the other deductions". On the other hand, the premier accuses, building bonuses have caused a 'very high cost and a minimal benefit with a cost of 200 billion euro, more than the amount of the entire recovery and resilience plan'.