No pension cuts says Delrio

(ANSA) - Rome, August 22 - Italy will face no pension cuts from the reformist government of Matteo Renzi, the premier's right-hand man Graziano Delrio said Friday.
    "Someone must have got heat stroke," said the cabinet secretary, referring to insistent press reports that Renzi will hit high-end pensions to get cash to respect EU deficit limits.
    Delrio also ruled out tax hikes to meet fiscal targets, saying "we are those who remove taxes, not those who levy new ones".
    He urged people to be "more optimistic" about Italy's ability to lift itself out of its longest postwar recession.
    Any cash needed to keep inside budgetary restraints, Delrio said, would come from a long-awaited spending review.