Government approves budget to fund pensions and personalized license plates
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Ministers have cleared a ‣26 billion budget that attempts to please most demographics at once. The package combines tax cuts for the middle class and ‣100 grants for newborns with more niche provisions, such as the introduction of personalized license plates and air conditioning for schools. While the finance ministry describes the plan as prudent, it also allows for retirement at 64 and a ‣500 boost to take-home pay.
The fiscal optimism is not shared by the unions, who have called a nationwide strike for October 30. Elsewhere, the legal system is busy with the past: seven officials have accepted plea deals over the 2023 Mestre bus crash, while the mayor of Corigliano-Rossano has been arrested in an anti-mafia sweep. Investigations have also reached the reconstruction efforts in Marche, where a corruption probe is examining a network linked to the governing party.
A proposed amendment would allow the government to export obsolete weapons via ministerial decree, effectively removing parliament from the approval process. In the healthcare sector, President Mattarella has publicly addressed doctors who refuse vaccines, a move that has left the coalition partners in Forza Italia looking for an appropriate response.