Premier Matteo Renzi said his government's 1,000-day reform programme was Italy's last chance to make up for wasted time that should have been used to combat the country's economic decline. "The 1,000 days are the last chance to make up the wasted time, a sign of recovery after so much wasted time," Renzi told the Lower House. "I am willing to lose popularity to carry out reforms, added the premier, the leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD). "The severity of our approach stems from the strong, widespread awareness that at the end of this road we will not only have turned around the current parliamentary term, we will also have put Italy back on track".
Renzi said Tuesday that Italy has "stopped falling" even though its economy recently slipped into its third recession since the start of the global economic crisis. "Today we are in a moment in which the eurozone is stationary. Italy has stopped falling, but this is not enough," Renzi said. "The (economic) figures are no longer devastating. But we have to start over in order to return to growth".
Renzi admitted that the 80-euro-a-month tax bonus that his government introduced this year has not had the desired effect in terms of boosting in the economy. But he also stressed this was only the start of moves to have a fairer, less burdensome tax system. "The 80 euros have had the effect we hoped for," Renzi told the Lower House. "We could do more, we should do more, certainly. But we have made a start...
"What is needed is a strategy to reduce taxes, and the burden of labour taxes, with a reduction for the first time of (regional business tax) IRAP.
"The tax regime needs to be an inexpensive as possible".
Renzi added that Italy needed a new election law "at once", while stressing that he did not want this to be able to be able to call snap elections, but because another failure by the political class would be an "affront" to the public.
"No-one wants to move forward with a bulldozer, but the election law is not an issue than can be delayed," Renzi told the House. "It's a priority. We are ready to listen (to other parties) but some parts (of the government's proposal) are unchangeable".
Renzi, the leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), has an agreement with ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi, the head of the opposition centre-right Forza Italia (FI) party, for a new election system.
A bill based on that deal, nicknamed the Italicum, is being examined in parliament and has cleared the Lower House.
Renzi is also trying to get the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S), which won a quarter of the vote at last year's general election, on board.
Before parliament's summer recess he held two meetings with the M5S to try to find a compromise that would also be acceptable to the movement, arguing that agreement on the "rules of the game" should be as broad as possible.
The Italicum sets out to replace the dysfunctional system that contributed to the inconclusive outcome to last year's general election and was declared unconstitutional.
It sets bars for small parties to force them into alliances and limit their veto power, and provides a 15% winner's bonus for a coalition that gets 37% to ensure it has a working majority in parliament.
The Italicum contemplates a run-off vote for the bonus seats if no coalition reaches the 37% threshold.
Under this system, voters do not have the power to state on their ballots which candidate on any given party list they want to represent them in parliament - the so-called preferences.
The M5S has been demanding this, but preferences do not feature in the Italicum because they were taken off the table on request of Berlusconi.
Renzi also said labour market regulations must change to end the "apartheid" that sees generally older workers in steady positions enjoy cast-iron job security, while new entrants to the market have little or no protection.
"Labour rights must not be the same as today at the end of the (government's) 1,000 days," Renzi said.
"There is nothing more unfair than dividing people between first-class and second-class citizens. The world of work based on apartheid must be overcome".
Renzi government passed a law changing the rules for temporary contracts, but its reform of the labour market is set to continue with its so-called Jobs Act, which is at the start of the path through parliament.
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