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Italian president calls for rigorous reform on May Day

02 May 2012 01:52 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Tuesday called the country to continue on the path of rigorous reform, APA reports.

"There is no alternative but to continue with determination in the commitment to a balanced budget and a strong, systematic reduction of debt," Napolitano said in a speech on the International Workers’ Day.

He praised the drastic reforms adopted by the emergency cabinet of technocrats led by Prime Minister Mario Monti, saying that they have led to "a restoration of confidence in the financial sustainability of our country."

In Europe, he noted, there are now concerns about "the risk of a radicalization of austerity policies that embrace the EU countries without taking into account relevant differentiations in the state of their finances."

However, this should not "open the way for a resumption of indiscriminate public spending" because "the key to determine increased growth even in a context of limited resources is the quality of spending."

All sectors have to "prepare to change" because Europeans will not be allowed "to live beyond their means" anymore, he added.

Enhancing growth must be now the "imperative" especially aimed at reviving young generations who struggle amid mounting unemployment and economic difficulties, Napolitano said.

Labor minister Elsa Fornero, for her part, stressed that unemployment in Italy has reached the threshold of 9.7 percent, which is a serious problem to be addressed with measures to boost dynamism and competitiveness.

"We need to think over the reasons of this crisis, and act," she told Rai state radio.

According to local media, two out of three shops remained open in Italy on the International Workers’ Day. "There is no reason why we should celebrate the Workers’ Day when we need to work harder in order to survive," a shopper in Rome was quoted by Rai radio as saying.

Meanwhile, the country’s main labor unions took to the streets to ask the government to cut labor and home taxes.

"This government has promised fiscal consolidation, growth and social equity. They were quick in balancing accounts but made sure that only employees and retirees would pay the bill," said Luigi Angeletti, leader of the Italian Labor Union.