No government about-face on fuel and the 48-hour strike by petrol stations starts tonight. Who had invoked the premier to rethink the Transparency decree on petrol and diesel prices and would have expected a positive signal up to a minute before closing. But Giorgia Meloni, from Algiers, is clear: “The measure is right, there is no turning back”, clarifying that “no one wants to hit the category”. The Prime Minister explains: “We have already summoned them twice, the government has never imagined measures to point out the category of petrol station attendants but to recognize the value of the many honest people”.
The diplomacies are always at work and it is not excluded that there may be a new summons at the last moment. Meanwhile, there were new increases over the weekend for fuel prices, with do-it-yourself petrol at 1.84 euros/litre (1.98 on served) and diesel at 1.89 (2.026). From 7pm on the ordinary network and from 10pm on the motorways, the petrol stations, including self-service ones, will be closed for two days. Faib Confesercenti, Fegica and Figisc-Anisa Confcommercio, just over 24 hours after the start of the protest, almost as a last resort, returned to explain with a note that «the Government, instead of opening up to discussions on the real problems of the sector, continues to speak of “transparency” and “gray areas” only to hide their responsibilities and pollute the debate, suggesting the fault of speculation of petrol stations that do not exist.