The budget law that the government is set to frame and parliament to approve in the coming weeks needs to face up to the reality of the present economic situation, the centre-left opposition Democratic Party (Pd) said on Friday.
"The revised GDP figures for the second quarter of 2023 unfortunately show an economic slowdown that is worse than initially estimated," said PD senator and head of the party's economic department, Antonio Misiani.
"The next budget must face up to reality. The available resources must be concentrated where they are needed: to shore up household income that has been eroded by inflation, to finance health, education and public transport, to relaunch the country's development," he continued.
On Friday Istat said Italy's gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.4% in the second quarter of 2023 with respect to the previous three months, a bigger drop than the figure of 0.3% that the statistics agency had given in its preliminary estimates.
Likewise, on Thursday Istat said the number of people in employment in Italy in July fell by 0.3% over the previous month, the first drop after seven consecutive months of growth.
The figures "confirm the deterioration in the country's economic situation and demolish the optimistic narrative that the government and the majority have continued to maintain in recent months", continued Misiani.
"The whole of Europe is in danger of stagflation, and Italy is no exception," he concluded.
Source: Ansa News Agency (ANA)