Brussels. Italians and Europeans find it hard to look optimistically to the immediate future. They are worried about the cost of living increases, starting with bills and supermarket receipts, so they don’t see the response they expected and hoped for at a political level. The Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Parliament is a mixture of concern for what could be and rejection of what has been so far.
Expensive energy, Europeans and Italians unhappy with their governments
In just four out of 27 countries (Malta, Luxembourg, Ireland and Denmark) there is a clear majority that approves the work of national policy to try to respond to energy and food price increases. Italy is also in the climate of general dissatisfaction. Here, 60% believe that economic and social protection measures and interventions are insufficient. The survey, having been conducted between 12 October and 7 November 2022, refers to the action of the Draghi government. The current executive headed by Giorgia Meloni was sworn in on October 21, and did not have time to manage the issue of the high cost of living in order to gather opinions and moods.
As far as Italy is concerned, at least two observations are in order. The first: Mario Draghi’s work in the face of the price crisis still finds a higher appreciation (37%) than that expressed for the German chancellor (31%), the French president (30%), and the Spanish prime minister ( 28%). Among the heads of state and government of the main economies of the Eurozone, he is therefore the one who, in the general situation of crisis, has received the greatest recognition.
The second consideration is the political message that comes from the Eurobarometer survey for the Meloni government. This is asked to work to improve things and above all perception. Certainly the stop to the cut of excise taxes on petrol does not help the task of the centre-right majority.
Italy, poverty alarm and wage question
The tricolor government also has in its hands a social time bomb that it has to deal with. Virtually all (98% of the interviewees) declare themselves “worried” about the rising cost of living, in particular from shopping receipts and bills, but among those who already report “some difficulties with current income” in making ends meet (40 %) and who even “many difficulties” (11%), there is one person out of two (51%) to raise the issue of salaries. Half of Italy is struggling, and if on the one hand the aspect of remuneration sounds like an invitation to a reform of the labor market, on the other it also re-proposes the debate on basic income, a measure called into question by the Fdi- Lega-Fi.
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine bites more and more. In the last twelve months, between December 2021 and December 2022, in Italy there are 51% of citizens and families who “occasionally” have had difficulty honoring their household accounts, including bills and rents. Added to this is a 13% for which these problems occurred “most of the time”, and therefore almost every month. If four out of ten Italians (41%) declare that they have already seen their standard of living reduced, another four (40%) declare that they are afraid that this will happen in the months to come. It may also be for this reason that in Italy the index of those opposed to EU sanctions against Russia (35%) exceeds the EU average (24%).