Stop raising the retirement age, banks and insurance companies pay for the League

Extralarge scrapping and no increase in the retirement age, banks and insurance companies to pay. The League is not giving in and is deploying a flurry of amendments to the manoeuvre, heedless of the calls for caution that have come from many sides. The game is still to be played, with the vote in the Senate expected in early December, but it seems difficult that the proposals fine-tuned by the parliamentarians of Via Bellerio can get the green light without further adjustments.

Those who instead choose the path of caution is Fratelli d'Italia, which is doing a U-turn, at least for the moment, on strikes: withdrawn was the amendment proposal that aimed to introduce a seven-day notice requirement for workers in the transport sector. Inserted in the folders of the six thousand amendments to the budget law, the change envisioned by the premier's party - and which would not have been agreed upon in advance - was short-lived: forty-eight hours and the first signatory, Matteo Gelmetti, took pen and paper and with a note let it be known that he had reconsidered. The 'issue is complex', he explains, and deserves to be investigated and discussed. A bill will deal with it, he assures. The debate that had arisen, on the other hand, risked complicating the manoeuvre's path: the oppositions had taken the field, accusing the majority of wanting to strike at the Constitution, and the trade unions, including the CISL with its general secretary Daniela Fumarola, had said they were against it.

Even without having to talk about such a sensitive right as the right to strike, controversy over the budget law is the order of the day. Including distinctions between the governing parties. A new summit with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected next Thursday to take stock of the package of changes that has some chance of being agreed upon. The certainty is that themajority of the almost six thousand amendments will be wastepaper shortly: tomorrow is the day on which the parties must present the requests that are considered priorities. There are 414 amendments, 238 of which are majority amendments. The League has already let it be known that one of the two proposals on the scrappage scheme - on which there is also an amendment by FdI - will be included among the party's identity proposals: the aim is to extend the quinquies scrappage scheme to taxpayers who have been excluded from the quater scheme, whose mesh is also being widened, and who have received an assessment. A reduction in interest from 4 per cent to 2 per cent is also envisaged for those who choose to pay in instalments. Total cost of 365 million, therefore not easy to cover. Destined instead to be dropped almost immediately (i.e. not signalled by the party) was the second Leghist amendment, again on the scrapping, and which would have an even higher cost of almost 600 million. As chance would have it, however, even if short-lived, it is precisely this amendment proposal that will have to be presented in a corrected version: due to what is considered to be a mere typo, the wording of the rule would render the objective at which it was aimed futile, namely to include taxpayers who have received an assessment and have submitted a tax return in the scrapping scheme.

Matteo Salvini's party also insists on social security, demanding a freeze on raising the retirement age steps until 2028. In this case the coverage found, as loudly announced, would come from the 4-point increase in Irap, calling into question the agreement laboriously reached between the financial intermediaries and the government. The request to extend the Women's Option and Quota 103 was also reiterated. In addition to the flat tax for young people, there is the issue of short-term rentals. Forza Italia - which is also relaunching on shops - has taken up the battle, shared, however, this time with its leghist allies. The increase to 26% of the rate on the flat rate for those who rent through platforms does not really like it: both parties are calling for its cancellation. The tipping point may not be this, but government and majority are at work and among the hypotheses is that the increase could be reduced to 23%.