Clashes over empty beaches, opposition pushes for wages

Stagnant wages and empty beaches . False, because the mountain tourism boom is underway. The new clash between the opposition and the majority is a seaside one, not only because it's taking place in the first days of parliament's recess, but also because the bone of contention is Italians' holidays. Shorter or even nonexistent for the center-left, which accuses the government of doing nothing to support families' purchasing power. But after a day under fire from a barrage of press releases from the Democratic Party, Five Star Movement, and AVS, a platoon of Meloni supporters has arrived to defend the government's actions, responding again via press releases and rejecting the "distorted left-wing" interpretation of Italy's tourism data. Meanwhile, Forza Italia, in support of wages, relaunches its proposal to cut the personal income tax for the middle class, from 35% to 33% for incomes up to 60,000 euros (at a cost of approximately €4 billion).

The back-and-forth continues throughout the summer Sunday, with numbers thrown around . The prime culprits are the price increases on Italian coastlines, with "umbrellas and sunbeds costing up to 90-120 euros a day in Sardinia, Salento, and Versilia, with peaks of over 900 euros in luxury establishments," says Mario Turco, vice president of the Five Star Movement, pointing the finger at the decision to leave "beach concessions" untouched, whose fees should be aligned with price lists.

The high cost of beach umbrellas, moreover, clashes with "the impoverishment of the middle class" who are now "reducing holidays to the bare minimum" or "giving them up altogether," says the Democratic Party's economic director Antonio Misiani, accusing the government of "ignoring the wage issue." The Democrats cite, on the one hand, figures provided by the "beach workers' unions" which record "a 15% drop in attendance and consumption compared to last year, with peaks of minus 25% in some regions such as Calabria and Emilia Romagna," the OECD which "certifies that real wages in Italy have decreased by 7.5% compared to 2021," and also a statement by the president of Federalberghi on tourism "tied to paychecks." Between "the high cost of living and the high cost of energy, many families are unable to go on holiday," insists secretary Elly Schlein, reiterating the Democratic Party's recipe: "Reduce the cost of energy, separating it from that of gas, and immediately approve a minimum wage in one of the countries with among the lowest wages in Europe." Moreover, "while Italians are tightening their belts," banks are raking in "record profits," says the leader of the Movement, Giuseppe Conte, touching on an issue—that of credit institutions' extra profits—that the League has also been harping on for some time (but with the aim of finding resources to finance the write-off of tax bills). On the left, even AVS is looking at the banking system, which "between 2018 and 2024 has pocketed €162 billion in profits," while "in the same period, Italians' salaries have lost 11% of their purchasing power," observes Nicola Fratoianni, relaunching the "Sbloccastipendi" bill to address a "genuine social emergency."

But "what holiday crisis?" Italy is "at the top of the Mediterranean tourism market," rejects the accusations, Gianluca Caramanna, tourism director for the Italian Democratic Party (FdI). He lists, as does Luca De Carlo, president of the Senate Industry and Tourism Committee, the record numbers the mountains are experiencing. "Overall, over 6.8 million arrivals are estimated for the summer in the mountains (+4.8% compared to summer 2024)," with Trentino-Alto Adige "holding the saturation lead," followed by Valle d'Aosta and Abruzzo. The prime minister's party explains this as part of the "Meloni model," which focuses on "deseasonalizing" tourism and "delocalizing" villages, cities of art, and inland areas, which are growing in part to "combat overtourism."