The first session of the legislature which began an hour late – and not at 10am – due to the majority meeting called to agree on the amendments to the Stability Law was also the one in which the Regional Council had already approved the budget at 6.30pm forecast of the Council and that of the Region in addition to the Economic and Financial Document.
A maneuver that establishes a new path, claimed the governor Francesco Roberti. A “virtuous” path and “clarity in the accounts”. The budget is poor, sacrifices and very few “free” resources, because the priority “is to restore it”, in the words of councilor Gianluca Cefaratti. Then continue with the recovery plan which plans to reduce the deficit by 31 million per year until 2033.
To create development, the president remarked several times in the Chamber and with the press, «we have over 400 million in FSC funds and European resources available. A billion to be put on the ground in this region. And if we succeed in doing so, I believe that we will be satisfied even if for a few years we will not be able to finance this or that law from the regional budget.”
Roberti then rejected the sender’s co-responsibility that the minorities accuse his council of in the “disaster” recently certified by the two sentences of the Constitutional Court which annulled the 2020 and 2021 financial statements. The deficit accrued under other administrations, Toma’s certainly but the governor also blames the centre-left led by Frattura. The residues, he repeated a belief already expressed, had to be canceled first and the coverage spread over a medium-long period of time. «Instead perhaps we preferred to leave the problem to whoever would come later». As for the rejected reports, «they must be reapproved. The Court of Auditors wrote: having heard the President of the Region who declares himself willing to reapprove the 2020 and 2021 financial statements, we will wait until May 22nd for this to happen. But the path is clear”, reiterated the governor, closing the discussion on the Defr (approved by majority like all the other measures of yesterday’s session).
Too many subsidiaries, bonds and swaps (basically how to get out of the tunnel of derivative contracts), the absence of a formal commitment not to contract further debt and that of any type of investment were the key topics of the interventions of the opposition representatives : Gravina, Greco and Primiani for the 5s, Salvatore for the Democratic Party and Romano for Building Democracy. Primiani’s accusation is serious: “If the Region were a company it would be bankrupt today.” Five-star group leader Greco spoke about the compression of minority rights: «If you bring the budget to the Chamber two days before the April 30th deadline, we cannot exercise our role. We are only here to ratify a document that cannot be changed.” Then he brought a smile to the House: «Counsellor Cefaratti, allow me, seeing your files grow (they were placed on a trolley next to the seat of the head of the Budget, ed.) in proportion to the Region’s debts reminds me of Fantozzi’s scenes…” .
April 30th is a mandatory deadline this year, not only because otherwise it would have gone into temporary management, even if for a few days. But also because the Court of Auditors notified the group leaders of the past legislature of the sanction because in 2023 the forecast was not approved within the deadlines (but last December). Sanction consists in the payment of the value of the contracts stipulated with the group’s employees despite the hiring freeze (which is triggered if the budget is approved after the legal deadlines). «Where Toma didn’t arrive, where you didn’t arrive – 5s Primiani said caustically – the Court of Auditors arrived».
However, Cefaratti assured the magistrates of Via Garibaldi that «we do not want to oppose ourselves in any way, we must put the formalisms in place. It is a difficult budget but healing it is the first objective”, confirmed Cefaratti, describing the heavy legacy found on his table.
Shortly after 6pm – with 13 yes and 5 no – the budget estimate was approved. Four days before the fateful April 30th.
Then the Chamber moved on to examine the act of the maneuver, the Stability law. The president of the 1st Commission Roberto Di Pardo illustrated the bill before a long suspension to prepare the majority “maxi-amendment”.
ritai
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