Italian ministers need to reduce staff and expenses by at least 10 percent and to suspend some social projects, as Premier Romano Prodi's new government tries to rein in spending.
The austerity orders went out during a closed-door retreat Sunday and Monday in a villa in the Umbrian countryside, where Prodi summoned the sometimes bickering 25 ministers in his center-left coalition to try to forge a united front to tackle the sorry state of Italy's finances. "There was an invitation to all the ministers to look at their turf very carefully, at spending items, consultancy fees, chauffeured cars, travel, staff, to give an initial indication of where at least 10 percent can be cut," Prodi's spokesman Silvio Sircana said after retreat ended.
Infrastructure Minister Antonio Di Pietro told reporters that public contracts for construction projects will be put off by about six months for review. Environment Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio sought to blame Italy's tight finances on the previous, five-year-long, center-right government of conservative leader Silvio Berlusconi.
"We found the coffers empty thanks to the center-right," Pecoraro Scanio said as he left the retreat in San Martino in Campo. Earlier, Sircana told reporters that among the ministers "there has been an acknowledgment, yes, of a difficult situation."
Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa Schioppa on Sunday night gave a sobering speech to his colleagues. "The entire system must undergo better control on public spending," Padoa Schioppa was quoted by Milan daily Corriere della Sera as saying. "We must tighten our belts. Only a strong synergy between all the ministers will stop spending from getting out of control."
With Italy's economy sluggish, Prodi has pledged to slash payroll taxes by 5 percent during his first year in office to try to make Italian businesses more competitive in Europe and around the world, especially against stiff competition from Asia, reports the AP.
N.U.
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