Istalia

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The Government begins the rationalization of Welfare

A structural reform is coming towards greater efficiency, private participation and more dedicated support for the families

Minister of Health and National Welfare Marco Bellocchio exposes the incoming welfare reform

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January 5649

ROMULA - The government led by Valeriano Giunio today presented the preliminary guidelines for a vast reform of the welfare system, considered "elephantiac, dispersive and inefficient". The reform will focus on the rationalization of social spending through the elimination of overlaps between levels of government, the simplification of existing measures and the introduction of more targeted and effective tools. Among the key points is the introduction of the Fiscal Family Quotient, designed to incentivize birth rates and support large families, orienting welfare in a more selective and less universalistic direction. It is also planned to overcome a multitude of fragmented bonuses and benefits in favor of a single family allowance, structured on the basis of income and the composition of the family unit. Finally, the government intends to encourage the participation of private entities, companies in the service sector, institutions, foundations, associations and religious structures, in the management of social and welfare services, opening up to the possibility of stable agreement and accreditation mechanisms.

As officially communicated, however, the executive will proceed with caution: the details of the reform will be refined only after the conclusion of a deep cost-benefit analysis of the measures adopted in the last two decades by left-wing governments. The declared objective is to eliminate waste and duplication, better direct public resources and build a mixed model, in which the State continues to guarantee fundamental rights, but promotes efficiency and freedom of choice for citizens through greater openness to the private world.

The Minister of Health and National Welfare, Marco Bellocchio, leader of the Hosian Democratic Union, commented favorably on the launch of the reform, calling it a necessary step to make our social protection system fairer and more effective.

The UOD has always supported a universal and supportive welfare system, based on the dignity of the person and the centrality of the family and we brought with us these values into this executive. The government does not intend to dismantle anything, it aims to correct what does not work, strengthen what has value and open to the collaboration of all those actors, public and private, who share the commitment to the common good. The participation of the private sector is not a danger but a resource if well regulated. The parishes, foundations, economic actors of the third sector and the social works of the Aurorian Church have contributed to assistance in the territory for years: it is time to recognize and integrate this human and value heritage into a more flexible, modern and sustainable system. The State will remain the guarantor of the universality of social rights, but it does not necessarily have to be the only provider. With this reform, citizens will be able to count on a greater choice of services, better, faster and more personalized services.

The opposition did not take long to react to the announcement of the reform, firmly denouncing the line taken by the government. The secretary of the Democratic Socialist Party, Fabrizio Moccia, reconfirmed as leader of the party despite the electoral defeat, defined the guidelines as an ideological attempt to deconstruct the Istalian social model, built over years of reforms that have brought more equity and more rights.

It is clear that the cost-benefit analysis is a fig leaf. The real objective is to open healthcare and assistance to the market, reducing the public sphere and progressively weakening the redistributive capacity of the State. Reducing bonuses and replacing them with a single family allowance may seem like a streamlining operation, but it will actually trigger a process of selectivity and history teaches us that where the State withdraws, inequalities increase. Universal welfare is not a cost, it is an investment in social cohesion and in the overall growth of the country. Over the last twenty years we have built networks that have guaranteed inclusion, protection and equal opportunities.

Rossella Moscardini, the new leader of the New Communists who replaced Armando Testa after the blow of the elections, instead takes a more radical and ideologically clear position:

This is not about correcting inefficiencies but about transforming citizens into customers and rights into paid services. We are talking about the risk that assistance becomes private assistance, a market where pathologies, poverty and hardships are treated like commodities. Selective measures based on income will create a two-speed society, in which the State no longer protects everyone and those who can afford it will be able to count on better services, further increasing inequalities. Furthermore, the mixing with religious entities threatens the secularity of the State and opens the way to an unacceptable drift. We will not allow access to rights to become optional and clientelistic and for the secularity of the state to be called into question. We will oppose this with all democratic means!