Budget maneuver and flexibility: the debate between Meloni, Giorgetti and Leo

We are once again talking about budget flexibility in the political debate, in view of the next budget. After the request made yesterday by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, today the words of the Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti arrived, who highlighted how the request for flexibility linked to inflation "was obvious. We have made some reflections" on a "purely technical" question which however becomes of substance, that is, the spending path is a nominal spending path. We are respecting it, we are among the best. But the problem is that it contains an inflation rate which was programmed at the time by the Commission evidently much lower than what occurred."

The reasons

The reasons that led the prime minister to ask for more flexibility were explained by Giorgetti himself, who highlighted that with the current inflation rate "that spending path, given that there are items in the budget that are indexed to inflation, becomes difficult to maintain, but not for us, for everyone". The current inflation rate "should in some way be considered among the external factors. The famous relevant factors that are written there should be evaluated in this circumstance. It is a discussion that we have had with colleagues, I have also exchanged opinions with others. Let's see what the Commission will say".

The Budget Law

On the topic of the next maneuver, Giorgetti reiterated that "it will be serious". However, deputy minister Maurizio Leo was more unbalanced in a meeting with the executive board of Confartigianato: "With all sincerity I must tell you it will be a difficult budget law. Due to the effect of inflation, due to the maintenance of public accounts, due to the effect of the public debt at the moment in which we go to issue the securities". The deputy minister then continued: "You have seen the spread, we have always kept it under control and due to the increase in energy it is reaching 100. We hope that the European Union understands this situation and comes to our aid, gives us more flexibility and this gives us a little more oxygen in making more targeted interventions".