26 November 2007

Council of Ministers: Finance Bill: on its way

Friday 23 November, Council of Ministers. Here’s the account of the Council of Ministers and of CIPE, (the Committee that deals with the approval of public works) and the 150 Years Committee (for the work to be done in relation to 150 years since the Unification of Italy).
We need to think about this as well, but instead of buying flowers, we will do good work by improving infrastructure or buildings that remind us of that date, but at least we will do something that lasts, because if we use flowers, they have wilted by the following day.
As regards CIPE, we had to define the spending of the money coming from the “little treasure”, that of the decree that we approved last week, and we have used the money to show that this time, by spending the money, this won’t go in unspent balances, that is in blocked strong boxes, and above all because we are spending the money early the costs won’t go up and we are spending the money for exactly the things that Parliament has approved, so that then in the future we are not using the money set aside for one thing to spend on another.
It was an important Council of Ministers, not because of what was on the agenda, as much as some methodological issues that we tackled.
On the agenda, we approved the Environmental Code, that was having its second reading and will need more work, then we put right some International treaties, and we also approved regulations for Heavy Goods Vehicles, which is a very sensitive issue about which there are strikes happening, but we found a way forward.
A Council of Ministers that is functioning and is functioning well, contrary to all the polemics in relation to the parties that are filling the newspapers every day. Every day there’s a new one. It’s true, Veltroni has made a new party, even though then he says that there’s a whole process in forming it, but he is making it in his own image and likeness. Berlusconi is making another one in his own image and likeness, he’s giving it a different name, but by inverting the order of the things you add together, you get the same sum. We of the other parties are trying to find a togetherness so that we are not swallowed up at the same time, trying to take forward our political action. While all this is happening however we have a real country with its needs, its worries, its priorities, and on the other hand we have the Council of Ministers, like for example this morning’s that is carrying out its duty, that is governing, because it has received the trust of the citizens and also just now of Parliament, and thus has the duty to govern. Just now, in the sense that the Finance Bill approved by the Senate and the Council of Ministers and the decree approved by both Houses of Parliament say “these are the tools, go ahead, do the work and keep quiet”, and that is what we are doing: working without worrying about the daily political polemics.
What have we decided to do? We have decided to take hold of the product handed to us by the Senate in the Finance Bill, look to see if it has been turned upside down in some way or if it must be tackled serenely by the Council of Ministers in its actions, and we decided not to present hundreds of amendments, but to present them all together after an analysis and some studying. Our commitment is to say to our parties not to fill up Parliament with amendments, or the Finance Bill will be turned upside down, while we are doing the main changes directly as a proposal, as for example, the Class Action, that will have to be approved, because there’s the need for a collective judicial action on the part of individuals to be able to defend themselves against the big powers, because one by one the individuals are always defeated by the colossal powers of industry and the economy. Another example relates to the salary of the State directors, as has been confirmed in Parliament, what has to be confirmed is the idea that they cannot have fabulous salaries, even millions of euro, even to end their contract, but at the same time we need to give more equality and more dignity to the meritocracy, because there are directors who work well and there are directors who should be sent home as soon as possible.
Thus we decided to sift through the various possible amendments to take responsibility, with a single big amendment, covering those issues that it is appropriate to add to improve the Finance Bill in the discussions in Parliament.
All this is happening as a concrete action by the government, while as regards the general situation, we hope that this political scene becomes clearer, starting with a possible electoral situation, so that there can be less discussion of words and formulae, but more of facts and contents. This is where my commitment is directed, here where I am today, and I hope for a long time still, and my commitment as the representative of a party like Italia dei Valori, that is not afraid of the thresholds for the electoral quorum, but wants to have your trust and to deserve it.

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Economy