Italy’s government has drastically reduced the number of people receiving citizen benefits. As of today, 169,000 households have had to do without basic security. Critics speak of a “social catastrophe”.
From today, hundreds of thousands of Italians will be cut from social assistance. According to media reports, around 169,000 households will be affected by the drastic reduction in so-called citizen money. The recipients were informed of this last Friday by SMS.
From now on, only households in which minors, people with disabilities or seniors older than 65 years live will receive the citizen’s allowance. The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had decided on stricter requirements for receiving social assistance, which will take effect from August 1st.
protests in the south of the country
According to observers, citizen income could be suspended for a further 80,000 households in late summer. The south of the country is particularly affected by the new measures. Naples is the city with the most recipients of citizen income. Unions and activist groups have called for protests against the cuts.
In some cities in the south, people protested in front of the offices of the social security agency INPS. On Monday in Sicily, an unemployed man stormed into the mayor’s office in the municipality of Terrasini, spilled petrol and threatened to set everything on fire, according to media reports. He could be stopped.
Citizens’ income was introduced in 2019
Opposition politicians sharply criticized the government’s move. Ex-Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who introduced citizen income in 2019, described the step as an “ideological war” that would be fought on the backs of the weakest. Critics fear a “social catastrophe”. The fact that the cut was communicated via text message caused outrage.
Meloni’s right-wing government was a thorn in the side of citizens’ income. She wants to massively reduce the number of beneficiaries and the expenditure on support. Right-wing parties have repeatedly claimed that citizen income has not provided an incentive for those who could work to actually work.