Urso appointed as commissioner. From Ilva to energy (Meloni would like a commissioner), messages to the Minister for Industrial Policy, Innovation and Digitalisation

He remains convinced that his position is secure. And yet, in recent times, Adolfo Urso, Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy, must have begun to notice some ominous signs of a power play. Whilst it is true that the rapid succession of events has made it even clearer that, on many issues for which the Mimit would normally have jurisdiction, it is now Palazzo Chigi that wishes to centralise control and assume responsibility. Yesterday, not coincidentally, the Undersecretary to the Prime Minister, Alfredo Mantovano, chaired a summit with the trade unions involved in the former Ilva dispute. The meeting was also attended by Urso, the Minister for the Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti, and the Minister for Labour, Marina Elvira Calderone, and was laden with considerable expectations, given that over the past 24 hours the government had indeed sought to speed up the sale of the Taranto plants, with a further 100 million to ensure their continued operation. At the same time, however, it had to contend with the ruling by the Milan Court of Appeal, which ordered a halt to operations in the hot area within 90 days. Finding a way out of this will be complicated, and all those involved are well aware of this. This is also why Mantovano has indicated a willingness to ‘redefine the scope’ of the tender for the cold area, whilst assuring that the government ‘will guarantee continuity’ and avoid controversy with the judicial authorities, even if ‘reading comments from some of those who lodged an appeal saying “we’ve checkmated them” sounds out of place, because this is not a game’. For some time now, however, Prime Minister Meloni’s intentions have hinted at the possibility that the highly complex former Ilva dossier might fall within the remit of Palazzo Chigi. This has also been evident from the increasingly close and fruitful collaboration between Mantovano and the various trade unions (which yesterday called an 8-hour strike at all former Ilva plants). They have been invited to participate (alongside the Puglia Region and the municipality of Taranto) in the talks that will take place every week at the Mimit from next Tuesday onwards, though these remain under the auspices of Palazzo Chigi.

However, it is not just the Acciaierie d’Italia issue that is highlighting Urso’s increasingly diminished role within the government. At Monday’s latest Council of Ministers meeting – the one in which the government approved the cut in excise duty on diesel (but not on petrol) – opposing positions clashed once again: those supported mainly by the Lega and FdI, who argued that the cut should have gone ahead. And Urso’s long-standing position, namely selective support for households in the form of funding for social cards. After all, it was the minister himself who had stated in Parliament that excise duty cuts have often proved ‘inefficient and ineffective’. To no avail, as Urso’s requests were once again not taken into consideration. Still on the energy front, in recent months the government has toyed with the idea of appointing a sort of ‘super-commissioner’ for energy. This role would primarily involve coordinating several relevant ministries, namely the Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security, the Ministry for Enterprise and ‘Made in Italy’, and the Ministry of the Economy. However, even these proposals – strongly backed by Confindustria – have failed to generate much enthusiasm. This is particularly true among Pichetto and Urso, who are, in fact, the parties most directly involved in the issue. The fact remains that this scenario, too, appears to have been shelved for the time being.

And to think that even in other disputes of some significance, such as the one involving the multinational household appliance manufacturer Electrolux, there is always the risk that Meloni might decide (as the opposition is clamouring for her to do) to deal with the matter herself. Given that the meetings held with the company so far have come to nothing. And the Ministry of Economic Development has decided to put the matter on hold, postponing everything until a meeting to be held in September. Even regarding the so-called SEZ for the north (although it cannot strictly be considered a genuine SEZ), the government has not taken kindly to the attacks by right-wing leaders such as Attilio Fontana of the League, President of Lombardy. It is almost as if, even on this issue, a sense of despondency is beginning to be voiced at the Prime Minister’s Office: in the end, we’ll have to deal with it ourselves.