Confusion in Italy when entering the blockade of 'Phase Two'

Experts, pressure groups and citizens consider some of its aspects arbitrary and unreasonable.

Since last Monday (May 4), for example, now it is allowed to visit relatives, as long as they live in the same region.

"The law allows me to visit my second cousin, whom I only know at Christmas, but not my dear friend, whom I have known since I was nine years old," complains Francesca, a 27-year-old Sicilian saleswoman, to the observer from the EU.

Phase Two also makes the use of the mask mandatory in closed places open to the public and allows the restart of many, but not all, commercial activities. For example, stores that sell products other than food or necessary goods remain closed, as well as tourism activities.

"We don't think Phase Two is enough," says Marvj Rosselli, director of the Modena-based branch of Confesercenti, an association of trade, tourism and service companies. Modena is a rich industrial city in northern Italy, but the situation is dire.

"We are especially concerned about micro-businesses. If things continue like this, only in the province of Modena will they close by the hundreds. Retail, but also companies linked to the tourism sector, run the risk of paying a very high price."

While acknowledging that governing Italy during an unprecedented emergency is not easy, Rosselli notes that many small businesses are still waiting to receive aid promised by the government in March.

"Prime Minister Conte apologized," she says. "However, as one businessman told me, bills are not paid with an apology."

According to Rosselli, companies feel that government decisions are not based on well-thought-out strategies.

"Why allow museums to reopen but not small stores? Those who were allowed to keep them open during closing have shown that they can work safely."

From Livorno, a coastal city in Tuscany, Federico Pieragnoli, 50, director of the local branch of Confcommercio (the main lobby for trade, tourism and service companies), says: "The measures taken by the government to help business has been ineffective. Taxes have been postponed now, but only until June 30. How can entrepreneurs whose business has been closed for the past two months think about paying taxes on June 30? Where should they find the money? "

The government has allocated € 400 billion, but, says Pieragnoli, it is "guarantees, not financing. It is not money that goes directly to entrepreneurs, unfortunately. Banks examine each company's credit situation. If they do not consider it appropriate, they invest in a company, they don't lend you money. "

To date, for example, only a very small minority of restaurants and bars have had access to loans of € 25,000, according to Pieragnoli.

Hairdressers are also prohibited from reopening for now. Many of them have expressed frustration.

"We are aware of the importance of safety. I have already reserved a full plastic face shield in addition to the mask. In addition to the gloves, disinfectants and the rest," says Melissa Buonviaggio, a 47-year-old hairdresser in central Italy. .

Paying the rent

Although not working, Buonviaggio still has expenses: "I asked the salon owner if we could halve or stop paying when it was closed. She said no, even though she had been paying the rent on time every month for 21 years. "

The situation is also very difficult for Gregorio Carello, 39, who owns a clothing store in Trieste, an elegant Adriatic city on the border with Slovenia.

"I opened the business last year, making a huge investment. I invested in advertising and 2019 turned out well. I was hoping this year would be a good one too, but now I haven't had an income for two months." Carello received a grant worth € 600 from the Italian government, but it is a drop in the ocean.

"Microenterprises are suffering more than anyone else."

The tourism sector is also struggling tremendously.

Venice, for example, has been completely empty for two months, apart from residents. Simonetta Busulini, 57, is one of them. She has a four-star hotel on the Lido, where the Venice Film Festival is held every year.

"We have been closed since March 7, and since then the job has been to manage customer cancellations," she says. "I don't know when I will reopen. I have multiple fixed costs, laid off employees. I am optimistic, but sometimes I feel discouraged."

Trade and tourism are in dire straits.

And the manufacturing sector, traditionally a mainstay of the Italian economy, is not much better.

"The current situation is almost tragic. Two months of potential orders and turnover have been lost," says Alfredo Mariotti, 74, managing director of UCIMU based in Milan (lobby for manufacturers of robots, machine tools and automation systems) .

In general, the positive side of the problems of the Italian economy is exports. Not this time. "This crisis affects everyone, so we cannot expect to compensate for the drop in domestic demand with orders from abroad," said Mariotti.

From Northern Italy, Padua, Carlo Valerio, 67, businessman and president of the provincial section of Confapi (a lobby for small and medium-sized companies), says: "Italian manufacturers have restarted and all companies have equipped with security tools for your employees. "

According to Valerio, during the shutdown the government made the mistake of closing companies in entire manufacturing sectors, "including those that could have worked safely and continued to export. It is not easy to see the logic of certain political decisions. The government is treating us as if we were children. "

Confusion

Phase 2 Italy certainly seems confused.

However, it is not the government's fault, according to Giacomo, a 69-year-old pensioner. The EU observer finds him lining up in front of a butcher shop in Vicenza.

"Conte is our best politician since (former Italian Prime Minister) Romano Prodi," he says. "What is the opposition led by Salvini doing, in addition to criticizing? What are certain regional governors like the Lombardy doing? What about Europe? Do the Germans know that if Italy collapses, nobody will buy their cars?"

Antonio Varrone is director of the branch of Confindustria (the association of manufacturing and service companies) in Molise, a small region in southern Italy. For him, the measures taken by the government to protect public health are correct.

The problem, according to the 74-year-old manager, lies in "Italy's institutional structure, which greatly affects the country's growth capacity.

Regionalism is rampant here: in addition to the national government, there are 20 regional governors who feel they own their territory and legislate without a strategic vision for the entire country. "

Last week, Conte said the government is considering bringing forward the opening dates for bars, restaurants and hairdressers, which could restart on May 18.