League leader Matteo Salvini said
Wednesday outstanding points of contention with ally the 5-Star
Movement (M5S) including statute of limitations reform would be
worked out by Wednesday night and there was no chance of the
government collapsing paving the way for a general election in
March.
Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Salvini said Wednesday
all points of contention with the M5S "will be resolved by
tonight".
Asked about M5S leader Luigi Di Maio's insistence on stopping
the statute of limitations after first-instance trials, Salvini
said "with (Premier Giuseppe) Conte and Di Maio we've been
working well for five months, on justice we have to find the
right way with humility and good sense."
He said this was "because it is right to punish the corrupt
and the corrupters but trials have to have a beginning and an
end".
Salvini has previously said that he is open to some reform of
the statute of limitations but "trials can't be infinite, for
the sake of the innocent as well as the guilty".
On Wednesday he reiterated that he was in favour of "a reform
but not the abolition of the statute of limitations".
Salvini also squashed speculation there might be another
general election in March because of intermittent and recently
rising friction with the M5S.
"We're not going to the polls in March," he said.
"When I make a commitment with a party or the Italians I give
my soul and blood to respect it. I've committed to cancelling
the Fornero (pension reform), we've put 7 billion in, we'll
lower taxes, but I want to be here for five years because I
can't do everything at once. I won't pull down the government
just because the opinion polls say the League is the top party
in Italy".
A pension overhaul, 'flat tax' for the self-employed and a
basic income for job seekers and the poor are key parts of the
2019 budget bill, which has been rejected by Brussels.
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