The incoming week will be densely packed with important political issues. Tomorrow, the Budget Committee of the Chamber will start the vote on amendments to the Cura Italia decree, while the Productive Activities and Finance Committees will schedule the examination for the Liquidity Decree. Tomorrow there will be also the Council of Ministers which will approve the Decree to postpone Regional and Administrative elections. According to insights, the discussion on the Report on Budget variance and on the Economic and Financial Planning Document - expected tomorrow- could be postponed in a further Council of Ministers to be convened on Wednesday. On Tuesday, PM Conte will intervene in both the Chamber and the Senate on the initiatives taken against COVID-19 outbreak, its economic consequences and the Italian stance towards the European Council. On Wednesday we are expecting the general discussion and vote of confidence at the Chamber on the Cura Italia decree. On Thursday there will be the European Council video conference aimed at finding a political compromise on hot issues such as the ESM, where the Government’s majority is divided, the Recovery Fund and the Eurobond, the hottest issue on the table, on which Conte is playing the most important game at EU level. Today Italia PM, in an interview with the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, insists again on the need for common debt with european guarantees, while remembering how Germany is slowing down EU economy’s recovery due to its massive trade surplus. In his interview to Corriere della Sera, the General Director of ESM, Regling , assures credit lines will be recognized according to standard terms which are more rapid than corona bonds which would require more than one year to be effective on economic recovery.

 

Meanwhile, the discussion over the phase 2 is heating. After the control room Conte had with the Regions and Municipalities, in his press release affirms that the representatives of the local governments have expressed their adhesion to the Government's plan to adopt a national roadmap containing homogeneous guidelines for all the Regions. On Wednesday, the control room will meet again. Even if, the political warfare between Government and Lombardy shows no signs of ceasefire. Today Vito Crimi, the interim political leader of the Five Stars, suggested to to put under the administration of an external commissioner the League-ruled Lombardy, due to its mismanagement of COVID-19 pandemic. Matteo Salvini fired back, saying that Lombardy alone has done more than the central Government. Differently from Salvini, Giorgia Meloni attacked the Government on the delay to present the long-awaited April Decree. Forza Italia is stressing the need to open up the country. However, Berlusconi’s party position is quite different from the other two fellow center-right allies, because PM Conte has openly praised the low-tone opposition carried on by Forza Italia.