Majority divided on Rai license fee. Melons: only skirmishes

“If we have reached an agreement on the ceasefire in Lebanon we can also do so on the Rai license fee”. Behind the prime minister’s comment Giorgia Meloni to the majority’s setback this morning on the cut of the Rai license fee hidden is the invitation to the allies to avoid splits like the one that occurred in the Budget Commission of Palazzo Madama. FI voted differently from its allies, the amendment that the League had presented to confirm the 20 euro reduction was rejected 12 to 10, with the government mistakenly not referring to the Chamber.

The parties that support the executive relegate the defeat in the Senate to a mere parliamentary incident, the fact is that the Prime Minister had already launched the appeal to lower the rate of litigation by asking the center-right parties not to divide. In short, he would have liked this mess to be avoided. The chief executive also spoke about what happened with the deputy prime minister Antonio Tajani on the sidelines of the tenth edition of the Mediterranean Dialogues in Rome, then on the phone with the other deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini. “These are skirmishes, I don’t see anything particularly serious about them”, he told reporters but the objective now is to close ranks and no longer lend his side to the opposition attacks. “The government is strongly committed to supporting families and businesses, always operating within a framework of credibility and seriousness. The majority’s stumble on the issue of cutting the Rai license fee is of no benefit to anyone”, underlined sources from Palazzo Chigi.

Salvini and Tajani lower the tension

The League is moving forward, probably – reports a ‘big’ member of the party on Via Bellerio – the amendment will be re-presented in the Chamber of Deputies. But the deputy prime ministers throw water on the fire. Forza Italia claims to have maintained a coherent attitude (and to be the second force of the coalition), the League underlines that there is no problem in the majority even if it links FI’s ‘niet’ to corporate interests, an argument that the Azzurri reject . “Even Berlusconi said that the Rai license fee should be cancelled” but “nothing happens – underlined Salvini -. We deal with concrete issues. We have another three productive years, all the owls have been proven wrong”.

Indeed, the secretary of the League, sensing the air in the majority, had already this morning before the votes in the Commission avoided raising a fuss: “Forza Italia doesn’t want to lower the Rai license fee? I’m sorry not for the League but for the Italians: if that tax will not be cut, we will still work on other fronts”. Even Tajani, while maintaining the point, wanted to lower the tension: “You are making a state affair for an amendment”, he replied to journalists. The thesis is that the cut in the Rai license fee was not in the program: “Better – the reasoning – to use the 430 million to postpone the sugar tax, to create a basket to reduce the Irpef, to cut the waiting lists, to make something socially useful. We are committed to reducing the tax burden.”

The crux of the presidency

Yesterday they had all failed mediation attempts also carried out by the Minister for Relations with Parliament, Luca Ciriani. Such as the hypothesis of creating an ad hoc fund or moving the discussion to the Chamber. FI was adamant, Fdi sided with the League but the outcome of the vote was already written. Only that at first – claims a leading exponent of the centre-right – it was agreed that the Azzurri would abstain and instead they voted against. “We hope that the hand extended to the opposition has had an effect on the RAI presidency…”, observes another source from the coalition that supports the government.

Actually on Simona AgneseFI’s reference candidate for the presidency of the Viale Mazzini company, there is an impasse (this morning the centre-right deserted the work of the Supervisory Commission) and also on the appointments of the Council (tomorrow there will be another vote but it will go with a white card) the wall against the opposition does not crumble.

Reshuffle not reshuffle

The ‘timing’ to resolve the two issues on the table, according to the centre-right’s ‘road map’, is mid-December. When – after the arrival of the maneuver in the Montecitorio Chamber – the solution could also be found on the delegations of Raffaele Fitto ‘moved’ to Europe: the Prime Minister will decide, the FI secretary would have asked only to be involved in the choice on the delegation for European Affairs, “I have never made a question of positions, we will talk about it with the prime minister”, underlined the head of the Farnesina.

In any case, there should be no possibility of a reshuffle, even if the outcome of the trial concerning the Minister of Tourism is awaited Daniela Santanchè. Obviously there is no minimum or maximum threshold for changes of ministers that pushes the Quirinale to suggest a new vote of confidence: it depends on the weight of the ministers changed (with or without portfolio) and on the political opportunity. But the most popular idea is that we can possibly proceed with staggered replacements, avoiding the classic reshuffle.

However, it is not excluded that the leaders may see each other again next week. FI has sent a signal, but the belief in the alliance is that there will be a clarification, starting from the Rai issue. Now the spotlight is on the vote of confidence in the Senate on the tax bill (in the commission process there was also yesterday’s stop by the Quirinale on the reformulation of the 2 per thousand reform for political forces) and above all on the budget law. Today, in addition to the incident on the fee cut, the clash between the League and FI also took place over an amendment by Forza Italia presented by the Italian Claudio Lotito on Calabrian healthcare, led by the Forza Italia president Occhiuto: with the abstention of the ‘ ex Lumbard’ the amendment was rejected.

Schlein: “I’m in disarray”

“The majority is shattered and the divisions are evident. They are in disarray”, attacks the secretary of the Democratic Party Elly Schlein. “The prime minister should clarify whether a majority still exists”, says the leader of the M5s Giuseppe Conte. “Today’s episode also demonstrates that the united opposition can slip through the cracks of this embarrassing government to provide a real alternative to the country”, observes the MP from Italia Viva Maria Elena Boschi. “Nothing changes in relations with the majority, which is as solid as the government”, cuts the leader of Us Moderates bluntly Maurizio Lupi.

“Absolutely nothing new has happened. The majority is there and has its freedom of ideas”, also states the president of the FI senators Maurizio Gasparri. “No show of strength, absolutely”, also claims the group leader of Forza Italia in the Budget Committee at Palazzo Madama, Dario Damiani. “No to hasty or technically inadequate solutions”, underlines the FI spokesperson, Raffaele Nevi.