Meloni's Agenda: The dossiers awaiting the government in September
LaPresse
Back from vacation
The holidays are officially over. From the budget to the regional elections, from foreign policy to the vaccine controversy, here are the issues the government, parliament, and political parties will have to address.
The summer holidays are now behind us, and the government led by Giorgia Meloni is preparing for a busy September on several fronts. Domestically, attention is focused on the budget law, with expectations and tensions surrounding how resources will be managed and what interventions will be implemented. But crucial issues also include pensions, regional elections, and the controversy over mandatory vaccinations. International challenges abound. An agenda.
Regional electionsThis fall, elections will take place in six ordinary-statute regions and the Aosta Valley. Elections begin in the Marche and Aosta Valley regions, where elections will be held on September 28 and 29. Incumbent governor Francesco Acquaroli (FdI) will challenge center-left candidate Matteo Ricci, former mayor of Pesaro . Elections in Calabria , called following the resignation of President Roberto Occhiuto (FI), will be held on October 5 and 6.
Tuscany will follow, going to the polls on October 12th and 13th . Among the candidates here is the outgoing governor Eugenio Giani (Democratic Party) , while the center-right candidate is Alessandro Tomasi , mayor of Pistoia and nominated by the Brothers of Italy party. No date has yet been set for Campania, Veneto, and Puglia —votes will almost certainly be held before the November 23rd deadline—and not all the candidates have been determined. In Veneto, Giovanni Manildo (former mayor of Treviso) will run for the center-left , while on the right there is discontent, particularly between the League , which wants to continue appointing the regional president, and the Brothers of Italy party.
In Puglia, however, tensions are primarily on the left—even though a center-right candidate is still missing. The most popular candidate is Antonio Decaro, former mayor of Bari and now a member of the European Parliament, who, however, has stated he would not be willing to run if Michele Emiliano (outgoing governor) and Nichi Vendola (Avs) were to appear on the lists.
Candidates from the center-right and center-left are also lacking in Campania. In particular, the broad-based center-left candidate is Roberto Fico (M5S), but the sticking point is support for Vincenzo De Luca, who is ineligible to run again.
In view of the next budget law , the most discussed topic currently appears to be pensions . The Meloni government aims to postpone the increase in the retirement age to 67 years and three months starting in 2027 (a delay that should naturally be a result of the increase in life expectancy recorded by the latest ISTAT data). Undersecretary of Labor Durigon has stated that he intends to include a freeze on the retirement age in the budget. The majority is also divided on tax reforms : Forza Italia is pushing for a cut in personal income tax for the middle class, while the League wants a new elimination of tax bills. The possibility of a "pinch to the banks," as Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti called it, has also been raised.
The governing majority will have to address the issue of mandatory vaccination, which has reopened following Minister Schillaci's revocation of the appointments to the National Technical Advisory Body (NITAG ) due to the presence of two doctors who had expressed skepticism about vaccines. Some members of the League have harshly criticized the decision: first Matteo Salvini and then Claudio Borghi , who relaunched the proposal to abolish the mandatory vaccination required by the Lorenzin Law. Internal majority responses, from Forza Italia, were quick to arrive. Schillaci's absence from the Rimini Meeting , which was supposed to be in person but instead sent a video message, also reflected the embarrassment over the issue.
International politics has never really taken a vacation. Not only because of the Washington mission the Prime Minister participated in on August 18—the negotiations for the war in Ukraine are currently stalled—but also because of the diplomatic turmoil between Rome and Paris. The Elysée Palace was not pleased with Minister Salvini's comments against President Macron , regarding the possible deployment of European troops to Kyiv. Meloni has not commented on the matter, but the internal disagreements within the majority, due primarily to the League's "neutralist" positions, remain an ongoing issue.
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