Premier Giorgia Meloni reiterated on
Tuesday that helping families and reversing Italy's declining
birth rate were among her government's top priorities.
"We are facing a major challenge, declining birth rates are
afflicting the whole of Europe and a certain cultural climate
has contributed to pushing down the demographic curve (even
further) in Italy," Meloni said in a video message to a meeting
on working mothers (La maternità (non) è un'impresa).
"There has been a lack of attention for decades.
"While people were taking action elsewhere, talking about
supporting the birth rate seemed almost to be a taboo in Italy.
"We have broken that taboo, we have put family and the birth
rate at the centre of the government's agenda.
"With this budget law (for 2024) and the last one, we have put
in place a package of measures worth over 2.5 billion euro (to
address the issue)".
The premier linked low birth rates to the country's economic
performance.
"Declining birth rates and lack of freedom are basically two
faces of degrowth," she said.
"No matter what anyone says, degrowth is never happy.
"We want Italy to grow, to grow the freedom of its citizens, the
welfare of its workers, its ability to produce.
"Mother-friendly and child-friendly business can be a key to
facing this challenge together"
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