Roundup: Italy PM warns against ideas of "dismantling" ahead of general election

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by Stefania Fumo

ROME, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has warned against "dismantling the (social) system" and called for "courage and confidence" in embracing the upcoming high-tech future.

In a speech at LUISS private university in Rome on Thursday, the Democratic Party premier said that for the good of the country, the achievements of the past five years of center-left government must not go to waste.

"Now is not the time for cicadas," said Gentiloni, using an Italian expression for pointless chatter, in reference to promises from opposition parties wooing voters ahead of Italy's next general election set for March 4.

Former center right premier Silvio Berlusconi has pledged to introduce a flat tax of 20 percent, while the populist Five Star Movement says it would dismantle pension reforms, introduce a universal income and increase public spending well beyond limits agreed with the European Union.

"We have finally left our worst postwar recession behind," Gentiloni reminded the audience. "Our accounts are not just in order, they are very much so," he went on, citing Italy's dropping deficit-to-GDP ratio (from 3 to 2 percent), stable primary surplus, job creation, and "exceptional" export numbers.

"Dispersing or dilapidating the results we have achieved would be absolutely irresponsible," he said. "Italy is going through a phase in which courage and confidence are more necessary than ever," the premier stressed.

"Now is not the time to dismantle the pillars of our system," the outgoing premier said, citing pensions and taxes. "It is time for competence, seriousness, and investment in the future."

Gentiloni said that while parts of Italy's economic fabric are pulling ahead -- he named fashion, design, food and wine, industrial manufacturing, the green economy, pharmaceuticals, and robotics -- too many people are being "left behind". "If we don't recognize this problem we won't go far," he said.

"There is a part of Italy that is steaming ahead and another part that is...lagging and suffering," Gentiloni said. The wounds of the economic crisis are still unhealed, and government must work harder to fight poverty and promote inclusion. However, the economic recovery is underway and investors must seize the day, he said.

"Now is the time to invest in Italy," he said. "The conditions have never been so favorable."

Gentiloni added that Italy must embrace the world of the future -- which will be based on artificial intelligence, big data, and robotics -- without fear, because the country has what it takes to be a success. "We need courage and confidence and quality human capital," he stressed. "This is a country that deserves confidence."

"Italy also deserves confidence because of what we have always stood for and will continue to stand for: culture, openness, identity, roots, dialogue," he added.

All this will not be wiped out by the technological evolution, because Italy's history, identity and experience mean it already has the tools to excel in the new coming world, Gentiloni said, adding that Italy should continue to play a strong role within the European Union.

Before the general election, rightwing and populist opposition parties, which are doing very well in the polls, are courting eurosceptic voters with pledges of "defending Italian sovereignty" and possible referendums on leaving the eurozone. Enditem

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