Meloni knows it: in Italy, work has never been so poor
The right's abstentionist strategy
Contrary to the vaunted records, the government is struggling in the economy and has not improved employment. Meloni's outbursts are a diversion
Perhaps it could not have been otherwise, but it is a fact that the referendum campaign, from the beginning but increasingly as the opening of the polls approached, completely put aside the object of the electoral test. Very little was said about the Jobs Act and workers' rights. Even less about citizenship for immigrants in Italy for five years. The clash, very hard in recent days, was all about the method rather than the merit, that is, about the invitation of the government and the majority not to vote, with even an open personal exposure of the prime minister.
If it had been the referendum front, i.e. the opposition, that had put it on this level, there would be nothing strange. On the merits, the referendums imply a certain number of embarrassing elements: on work, they are asking to repeal laws passed not by the right but by the PD during Renzi 's time and the PD itself, not to mention the centrists, is divided on the vote. On citizenship, no one had any interest in bringing out the position of the 5S, which on immigration has positions distant from those of the center-left and therefore has not given an indication of how to vote for the fifth question, the one on citizenship. Furthermore, it is the opposition that, at least apparently, is more advantageous to call for a vote not on individual points but against the government. After all, that was precisely the trap that sidelined Renzi in the ephemeral phase of his triumphs. So one would have expected the opposition to twist the challenge in that direction, which in fact it did. But instead, it was the government that swerved more vigorously. In fact, it was Giorgia herself.
The prime minister was not at all afraid of the citizenship test : on that front she knows she has the majority of voters on her side, whether they vote or abstain. But on work things are different. With her obvious provocations, made on purpose to shift the discussion onto the government's abstentionist campaign rather than onto the concrete points on which the vote will be held tomorrow, the prime minister wanted to avoid those issues ending up under the spotlight. Even at the cost of paying for a full-scale political clash that will probably bring more voters to the polls than would have chosen to vote otherwise. She did it because work is an open wound. Or rather, perhaps it is the open wound. Despite the opposition having been denouncing it for some time, the government's results in terms of macroeconomics are rather modest. Despite a stormy situation full of unforeseen events, Giorgetti has managed to keep the course fairly straight, but in terms of employment Giorgia certainly cannot boast comforting results, despite the decline in jobs, which are increasingly less paid and of poor quality.
In foreign policy, everything has become much more difficult after Trump's victory, but the Italian Prime Minister has not yet dissipated, or rather has only partially dissipated, the capital of international credibility that she had earned in the first two years of government. After all, she is vigorously working to recover the ground lost with the reckless "Trumpist" skid, but it is difficult at the moment to imagine that she can succeed. But when it comes to working conditions, the music changes and becomes a funeral march, whether it is about wages, among the lowest in Europe , or safety, the inadequacy of which is demonstrated by the daily massacre of workers , or rights, decimated by one government after another and not only by those of the right. For Giorgia, the less said about work, the better. Much less dangerous is a good brawl than those usual in Italian politics, with the accusation of undermining democracy for the invitation to abstention. That's something that is quickly forgotten even if it increases the risk of a nasty surprise in turnout: and if it were to reach around 35% the surprise would be very nasty.
There is one more reason why the prime minister prefers that the reality of work in Italy remain in the shadows. On that front she knows she will be able to do very little. In the summit two days ago with the government's top brass she was very clear, anticipating the announcement of NATO Secretary General Rutte the following day. Over the course of seven years, ten if the postponement requested by the UK and Italy passes, spending on NATO will have to reach 3.5% of GDP , plus another 1.5% in infrastructure that is however always necessary for preparing for war. That means over 40 billion a year and how much will be covered with the accounting tricks in which Italy excels is uncertain. Just as uncertain is the attempt to avoid having to go into too much debt for weapons by focusing on eurobonds, which in any case would be a problem for Italy, albeit a minor one. The condition of workers, in the near future, is destined to worsen , not improve. That is why the first duty is to avoid talking about it. Referendum or no referendum.
l'Unità
