Brussels, 29/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - The new head of the Italian government, Enrico Letta, set out the following commitment to the European plan: “We are going to define strategies in European bodies in an effort to obtain growth without compromising healthy public finances”. Letta's team is expected to a obtain parliament's vote of confidence on Monday 29 April. On the domestic level, the new prime minister is proposing to tackle challenges, such as job creation (especially among young people), revision of the electoral law and the funding of political parties, as well as reform of the habitation tax (IMU). Silvio Berlusconi's party, which is the second biggest political force in the government, wants this tax to be completely abolished and for a tax rebate to be introduced in 2012. The party made this an absolute precondition for its future participation in the government.
In an attempt to reassure his European partners, the new prime minister has sought to surround himself by figures, such as Emma Bonino, former European commissioner for foreign affairs, Fabrizio Saccomanni, the former director of the Bank of Italy, close to Mario Draghi, at the economic department, and Enzo Moavero Milanesi, whose portfolio has been reconfirmed at the department of European affairs.
In a speech outlining his programme, he provided assurances that Italy would respect its commitments to the EU but that it also hoped to obtain more room for manoeuvre in its negotiations with the Commission so that it can fund policies for stimulating economic recovery. He announced that the two main priorities of his policy will be promotion of sustainable development at a time that “Europe is experiencing a crisis of legitimacy, just when its citizens have need of this more than ever” and “greater integration towards developing a federal Europe”.
On the domestic level, he is counting on continuing the reforms begun by the Monti government for reducing debt and deficit, while mitigating the negative effects on jobs as much as possible. In order to achieve this aim, he is focusing efforts on tax reduction without further debt and cutting certain administrative excesses, as well as helping companies reduce insecure jobs, especially among young people, whilst reducing labour costs.
Letta indicated that his first visits abroad would include Brussels, Paris and Berlin, in response to an invitation from Angela Merkel. His appointment was welcomed by the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and by the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, who sees him as a friend of the US who demonstrates strong commitment to the transatlantic partnership. (FG/transl.fl)