On Saturday, on the inauguration of this year’s edition of the Fiera del Levante in Bari, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced high-speed rail projects, ”sustainable change and social infrastructure” and an “extraordinary” and “structural plan” for growth for Italy’s southern regions.
Before an audience which included Democratic Party leaders who, at the opening of last year’s edition of the Fiera, were listening to Conte’s speech from the opposition (Ministers Francesco Boccia, Teresa Bellanova and Peppe Provenzano, as well the mayor of Bari, Antonio Decaro and the governor of Aemilia, Michele Emiliano), Conte explained that the South and the environment will both be part of a “pact” with the EU.
This agreement should allow for the deduction of “green” investments from the calculation of the budget deficit. Conte also promised to support the candidacy of the city of Bari to host the G20 meeting in 2021.
As for the new budget law currently being worked on, the prime minister spoke of “a significant reduction in the tax burden on families with middle and low incomes and on businesses, particularly those that are innovating.” Conte is arguing that—unlike the previous government led by him, which supported more or less the same problem-fraught solutions for the South—he now has a “trust capital” at his disposal, which has already saved billions of euros with the decline in the spreads.
As is always the case, it all comes down to capital after all.
