They say the word rationing in a low voice. In any case, it is always accompanied by the footnote “extrema ratio”. In the election campaign, envisaging a tightening on consumption one month after the vote is very risky. Almost everyone prefers to talk about savings plans (the Democratic Party in the first place) or consumption efficiency (above all Fratelli d’Italia). But the almost daily increase in prices requires all political forces to take a stand right now. Very varied positions except on one point: the introduction of the price cap which will be discussed again in Brussels in just over a month. And yesterday the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luigi Di Maio, also returned to ask. “An EU cap on the price of gas is needed now, we cannot wait for the vote”.
European price cap, the only shared proposal
But this is perhaps the only shared proposal. Because the distinctions are more numerous, starting with the follow-up to the hypothesis, launched a few days ago by the secretary of the Pd Enrico Letta, to intervene immediately at the national level by introducing a moratorium on prices valid for 12 months. A road that does not convince the center-right at all. “We believe that the way forward remains the European one. In the meantime, we must immediately, and by now we mean even before the vote if necessary, secure the production chains that are paying the most for the increase in the price of energy and protect the families most in difficulty “, anticipates Giovanbattista Fazzolari, a senator very close to Giorgia Meloni and draftsman of the Brothers of Italy program, which does not exclude – if the emergency becomes acute – also the convening of the Chambers.
Forza Italia and the Lega are also on the same wavelength. Silvio Berlusconi’s party speaks explicitly of “a commitment to the price cap at the European level” and then does not fail to underline the need to provide “rationing plans so as not to find a new emergency. The sanitary and productive activities must be guaranteed and they will be ». While the League insists a lot on the price cap. “Let’s avoid making fun of the Italians: the gas price ceiling only makes sense at European level”, confirms Paolo Arrigoni, also a senator but for the Carroccio and head of Energy of Matteo Salvini’s party. “It will already be difficult to implement the price cap at a European level because the LNG market is global, but proposing it at a national level is pure ideology”. For Arrigoni, on the other hand, the proposal of the European ceiling must also be accompanied by that of “temporarily suspending the Ets market (the securities linked to the emission of Co2 ed) and, in the medium and long term, as also recently repeated by Salvini – we must also build new nuclear power plants.
The nuclear issue
For the rehabilitation of nuclear power it is also the third pole of Carlo Calenda which, however, immediately aims to halve the cost of energy, bringing it to 100Mwh for the so-called energy-intensive and gas-intensive companies. Calenda also made explicit reference to the role of the GSE as buyer of all energy sources. «It is fair and equitable to transfer resources from those who are making huge profits thanks to expensive energy. However – explains Luigi Marattin of Italia viva, outgoing president of the Finance Committee of the Chamber – the path chosen by the Draghi government is wrong because it has created distortions and inequities. Instead, it is necessary to focus on a temporary increase in IRES for the energy sector only “.
The debate on the taxation of extra-profits
In short, the extra-profit route has not paid off for some. While for others it remains the only way to go. This is the case of the Democratic Party which, through Antonio Nicita, who coordinated the leaders of the Pd secretariat in drafting the program, expressly indicates the need to proceed with the extension and extension of the extraordinary contribution on the extra earnings of energy companies “and he remarked, as anticipated a few days ago by the number one Letta, on the need to introduce “a regime of administered prices for electricity, on a transitional basis for 12 months”, which, however, finds the other parties cold. While “a large national energy saving plan” is preferred to rationing to help companies reduce waste and make costs and processes more efficient.