Single allowance, Meloni and Giorgetti dismantle fake news: “It remains” –

After the early retirement windows, now it’s the turn of the single allowance, which has ended up at the center of one of the many dust storms that are being raised on the horizon of the first meeting between the leaders of the majority, scheduled for tomorrow, August 30, to start talking about the future budget. Press reports gave the measure, launched in 2021 by the Draghi executive, which affects over six million families every year and is currently worth around 20 billion, as a done deal, sparking the ire of the opposition and, together, the reaction of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni who warns: “Be wary of reconstructions”.

The Democrats immediately attack: “It would be very serious if the government intended to cancel it, we will continue to defend this instrument also in the next budget”, assures the secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, who is echoed by the group leader in the Senate, Francesco Boccia, calling for Minister Giorgetti in the chamber. Italia Viva ups the ante: “The government is broke”, writes the senator and national coordinator of Iv Raffaella Paita, while Emiliano Fenu, group leader of the M5s in the Finance Committee of the Chamber, speaks of a “colossal Melonian deception”.

But the response from the Ministry of Economy and Finance is quick and dry: “fanciful and unfounded hypothesis”, is the telegraphic note that comes from via XX Settembre, which is followed by a real outcry from the majority. A few hours later, Meloni appears on social media with a video where, while Giorgetti nods behind her, she claims not only to have increased the single allowance (from 18 to 20 billion) but also to give “battle in Europe, precisely so that problems are not created, given that the European Commission tells us that we should also give it to all immigrant workers who exist in Italy, which would mean effectively killing the single allowance”. The Minister for Equal Opportunities, Eugenia Roccella, also joins the chorus, guaranteeing that the executive “will never take a single euro away from families, towards whom our commitment remains a priority and transversal to all ministries”, while for the leader of Forza Italia in the Chamber, Paolo Barelli, it is real “fake news”.

The Undersecretary of the Economy, Federico Freni, defines the press indiscretion as a banal “summer joke” and also closes the door to other rumors that have been circulating in recent days on the hot topic of pensions. The possibility of evaluating the Quota 41 dear to the League – even if with a recalculation of contributions – had already been anticipated by the Undersecretary of Labor, Claudio Durigon, who however denied the hypothesis of an increase from 3 to 6 months of the windows for early retirement. “If Durigon said that it is not being discussed, I don’t see why I should tell you differently. In fact, I confirm that it is not being discussed”, says Freni, questioned by LaPresse. Regarding the feared stop of Ape Sociale and Opzione Donna, however, he does not commit himself: “There are evaluations underway, but it is a bit early to talk about it, we are on August 29th. First – he concludes – have us present the Medium Term Structural Plan to Europe, have us present the DPB and then we will understand what to put or not put in the budget law”.