Zangrillo (FI): “The plan to cut red tape? I’m surprised – Tajani should have involved me. I find party conferences a real ordeal.”

“If Forza Italia were to launch a campaign to cut red tape, I would have liked an opening statement acknowledging that we have achieved some very significant things. There were plenty of results to highlight: 500 administrative simplifications brought before the Council of Ministers, over 650,000 new hires, the unblocking of contract renewals, and an exponential increase in training hours. Instead, it was a summer surprise: I would have expected greater involvement from my party’s leadership.” Paolo Zangrillo, Minister for Public Administration and a member of Forza Italia, is referring to the “major campaign to free Italians from the burden of bureaucracy” announced by Deputy Prime Minister Tajani. “It’s a perennial issue; we’ve been talking about it for thirty years and it becomes every government’s objective,” Zangrillo begins, speaking to Il Foglio. “It surprises me, however, that it was announced in this way. Not least because, before saying what we want to do, it would have been far more credible to highlight what we have achieved over the last four years.” Furthermore, the minister adds, “the plan was accompanied by a clumsy communication: a card asking citizens for suggestions. But perhaps my party didn’t realise that I set this up a year ago with the ‘La tua voce conta’ portal. I appreciate Tajani’s phone call, but perhaps a more systematic approach would have been appropriate. And I find it strange that the minister responsible wasn’t involved.”

As Minister for the Public Administration, Zangrillo highlights certain ‘sector-specific’ achievements, such as ‘the publication of the latest EU country report, which states that between 2023 and 2025, Italy has made the most significant progress amongst European countries in terms of citizens’ perception of the public administration. We have gone from 54 per cent of business owners and citizens being dissatisfied with the public administration in 2023 to 39 per cent in 2025, in line with the European average’. It is also because of this commitment, in short, that Zangrillo did not take kindly to the campaign launched by his party. “There was certainly a communication breakdown, which may partly have been my fault. I am a manager accustomed to speaking the language of managers – that of concrete results – not of politics. I could have made my case more effectively.”

But this interview with Zangrillo in "Il Foglio" provides an opportunity to step back from the day-to-day work of his ministry. And to delve into the internal debate within Forza Italia, as well as within the centre-right. Are you concerned about the Lega’s stability? “It is clear that the turmoil within a coalition party is a matter of concern to us, but we are confident that, given their history, they will manage to resolve their internal problems. For my part, I prefer to focus on ourselves.” So let us turn our attention to Forza Italia, then. You seem to be locked in a stalemate over end-of-life issues too, between those who want to speed things up and those who oppose it. Are you in favour? “I think that for FI there was a ‘before’, with Berlusconi, and an ‘after’, without Berlusconi. We are no longer an enlightened monarchy; Tajani himself acknowledges that there is no more Berlusconi, and so I believe we must operate differently from when our founder was here, focusing on providing solutions to problems that are not in Forza Italia’s DNA. That is why I disagree with those who say we risk chasing after the Left. End-of-life care is an issue that concerns us all,” notes Zangrillo. On the subject of internal workings, you have been one of the most fervent critics of the regional congresses. “And indeed, I found this congress season a painful experience; I would have preferred to avoid it. It is not through congresses, or the numbers of party members, that ideas are given space. I expect a party that is decidedly more open and more willing to work as a team. A party where those who express an idea differing from the official line do not have to feel uncomfortable. Otherwise, we will not get very far.” In the long election campaign that lies ahead, will there be a place for Marina and Pier Silvio Berlusconi? “Look, we’re called Forza Italia – Berlusconi for President, so their contribution will always be crucial. Will they stand for election? Everyone within Forza Italia would be delighted if they did. But even just a contribution of ideas is something we don’t want to do without. I asked Marina myself personally.”