The budget law satisfies and displeases someone every year, and there is tension for the 2026 budget too. Some issues have been sent back to Parliament, where we will discuss how to resolve them: among these, short-term rentals and banks. The conflict, however, seems to have been calmed from above, with Giorgia Meloni who, although abroad to follow the international agenda, seems to have given instructions to the moderators of the groups so that the issues are discussed not through the media.
After all, the topic of the Maneuver easily bores the general public, unlike the tensions between politicians, which can lead to media disputes as in the case of Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini or Tajani and Maurizio Lupi, who even accuse each other of telling lies. In this tense climate, the opposition certainly has less work to do, but it risks disappearing under the bickering of others.
Clash in the majority: there is a truce
After a week of tension, the order to maintain control seems to be coming from above. Thus comes the truce between the strongest voices of the majority, those who do not want to give in on some much discussed issues. One of these is Antonio Tajani, who sees the budget law positively and has words of praise for Giorgetti, “because he is doing a good job”. But, and this is where the tension arises, he also adds that it can be improved and must be done with work in Parliament.
Giorgetti does not exclude the hypothesis, indeed he says he agrees with the Foreign Minister, but he is categorical on the fact that there cannot be changes such as to dismantle the balancing of accounts. Moreover, while Giorgetti is the “minister of prudence” he must also try to displease the majority as little as possible. The 2026 budget, however, cannot please everyone.
This is why he ironically says that he is fleeing Rome because the ministers are chasing him, while “common people are asking to cut public spending”. Then the decision from above, coming directly from Giorgia Meloni, who calls her ministers to a truce to preserve the image of a cohesive and resistant government, also in view of the next elections.
The knots to untie: banks
But what are the issues that have created tension in the majority and which, under Meloni’s indication, will have to be resolved in Parliament? There are mainly two: banking institutions and short-term rentals.
For the first topic, Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani is the spokesperson, wanting to underline that credit institutions and insurance companies “are not cash cows”.
Maurizio Lupi, leader of Noi Moderati, responds to this provocation:
No one in the center-right thinks they are. I remind Tajani that in the summit we held he shared every measure we decided on.
But Tajani doesn’t agree and replies that Lupi “is behaving like Pinocchio”, even if he then says he forgives him. Still remaining in the tone of Collodi’s fairy tales, Lupi responds by recalling that “next to the puppet there is the talking cricket: the contribution of the banks was also discussed at the summit”.
Tommaso Foti, group leader of the Brothers of Italy in the Chamber, also intervened and responded to Tajani by reminding him that “even citizens are not cows to be milked”.
In theory, there should be no return to this chapter, and therefore the issue of the banking sector should not be reopened in Parliament either. As much as we don’t like the 2% increase in IRAP for the banks, it seems that the issue is now closed.
The issues to be resolved: short-term rentals
Unlike the banking sector, another open issue that could be discussed is that of short-term rentals. The point of the scandal would be the increase in flat rate tax from 21% to 26% for hosts who rely on intermediaries, such as Airbnb. According to estimates, these are the majority of short-term rental landlords.
On paper it might seem simple to resolve, given that the law would bring in just 100 million euros and is not as popular with Forza Italia as it is with the League.
The defunding of transport
Having gone unnoticed, the topic was brought back into the spotlight by the spat between Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini. Salvini, for example, said he wanted to talk to Giorgetti because “there is something to do about this budget law”, starting from the fact that “if it doesn’t have serious funding, there can’t be a serious housing plan”. But not only that: “With this maneuver, I was building the Bridge over the Strait at my home, at Camilluccia”, he added, specifying that fortunately the funding is already in the drawer,
But Tajani intervenes precisely on this, asking that Salvini and Giorgetti backtrack from the 50 million defunding for Rome’s Metro C or the absence of refinancing for the Naples-Afragola line. Then there is also the defunding of the M4 in Milan.
The League’s spokesmen deny: “The maneuver does not foresee any cut in funds for metro C. The figures cited by Tajani, 50 million euros, are not cuts, but a simple reprogramming of resources”. The note, however, ends with a dig: “Salvini is doing a lot in his ministry, so we understand the political interest in attacking us, but making false statements is not the most effective solution.”
