From the ‘Report’ to the cap on foreign students in schools, Landini speaks like a politician and calls for action: “On 17 October, everyone onto the streets for the Constitution”

“We are facing a dangerous risk of regression with regard to our Constitution. It is time for a major national demonstration on 17 October in Rome, alongside the Via Maestra movement, but not limited to it – involving all those organisations, associations and active citizenship networks which, fortunately, have spread throughout our country and which, at a local level, are the ones that guarantee those rights that the state is very often unable to guarantee.” This was stated by CGIL General Secretary Maurizio Landini whilst speaking to journalists in Palermo on the sidelines of the trade union’s initiative ‘L’altra Sicilia, l’Isola che non si arrende’. On this occasion, Landini – whose second term as union leader will expire in January 2027 and cannot be renewed – spoke on a wide and varied range of issues, from energy to the TV programme Report, right through to the cap on the number of foreign pupils in schools. 

“We have long believed that the price of petrol and diesel needs to be lowered,” said Landini. He pointed out that “a substantial portion of what we pay goes towards VAT, which goes to the state; so, from a certain point of view, the only way to take serious action in that direction is to lower that price. After all, this was one of the things that, if I remember correctly, the current Prime Minister himself had been calling for for years when he was in opposition; now that he is in government, he could easily do it.” On the economic front, in addition to action on VAT, Landini emphasised the need to increase wages and pensions, as well as tax relief for employees and pensioners, “who, as is well known, have in recent years even paid taxes they ought not to have paid because of this absurd mechanism known as ‘fiscal drag’”. 

When it comes to employment, there is no shortage of opportunities to criticise the government. “Job insecurity is not a matter of bad luck; it is linked to the absurd forms of employment that have been introduced over the years. Job insecurity kills. For example, that 22-year-old man who died at the Colosseum was working for a subcontractor. We even held a referendum on this issue, and 13 million Italians voted to say that it was necessary to change these daft laws and put an end to job insecurity. This is something that needs to be done,” said the general secretary. “This government is not doing this; on the contrary, on that occasion it urged Italians not to go out and vote.” He then turned his attention to the trend of young people leaving Italy in search of job opportunities abroad. “We are losing talent; on average, almost 100,000 young people – graduates and school leavers – now go abroad every year to put their skills to use outside Italy. We are a country that is ageing and losing skilled workers,” he said, before criticising the government’s immigration policy: “Rather than being afraid of those who are supposed to come to our country, the government should be asking itself not how to close the ports, but how to close the airports and prevent anyone from leaving.”

The most contentious issue in recent days, once again linked to immigration, is that of education. “The cap on the number of foreign pupils in Italian classrooms? It’s all political wrangling and extremely dangerous electoral manoeuvres,” said the head of the CGIL trade union. “I believe that, in this way, a fundamental right is being called into question: the right to education. I say this because a people like ours – a people made up of those who had to leave our country and make a new life for themselves around the world – should learn that integration begins precisely with language acquisition and with ensuring that everyone feels at ease.” For Landini, the risk is that we will be “turned back in time. Those who have fostered forms of racism throughout European history have brought about disasters. Indeed, it is precisely this kind of thinking that has led to wars, and since today, unfortunately, we find ourselves in the midst of a war-like situation, I believe that peace is built precisely on integration between people and, above all, on a civilisation founded on rights and the centrality of the individual, not on the centrality of market profit,” he added.

There is also scope to discuss *Report*. “I think there is a clear attack on all our constitutional freedoms,” he said in response to a question about the Rai 3 programme. “If there is one defining characteristic of this government, it is that it seeks to call into question the values of our Constitution. It has done so by attempting to undermine the independence of the judiciary, but fortunately the majority of Italians have made it clear they disagree. In October I will be in Tuscany, where workers have been reported to the authorities for taking part in a demonstration. And so too this attack on press freedom and investigative journalism: all of this,” he continued, “shows that our Constitution is a thorn in this government’s side.”

For Landini, therefore, ‘it is time to take to the streets to reclaim our voice so that the Constitution can be upheld. This means raising wages, saying no to job insecurity, ensuring the public health service works properly, guaranteeing the right to education, and above all upholding social justice that also stems from a proper tax system: it is unacceptable that it is only employees and pensioners who pay taxes, whilst tax breaks are granted on pensions and profits and tax evasion is encouraged,” he emphasised. “I believe the time has come for people to speak out again and take to the streets to say ‘enough is enough’ and to change this situation.” It remains to be seen how many leaders from the broad coalition will join him on the streets.