Good afternoon everyone. Thank you all very much for being here at the signing ceremony to launch this initiative, which makes me particularly proud and for which I wish to thank Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso, Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry Francesco Lollobrigida, all departments and Palazzo Chigi and, of course, all the representatives from the world of production who are here today, who have developed this initiative together with us.

My thanks also go to Benedetto Mineo, better known as “Mister Prices”, for his daily work and the role he has played in this initiative.
As I was saying, however, I above all wish to thank the entire world of production, supply chains and all the organisations and associations that have stated their readiness to sign this Anti-Inflation Pact, an instrument for us to work together to control the prices of the main fast moving consumer goods.
I thank you, as I honestly believe that this initiative goes beyond its economic value.

I believe this is also a good message to send to the nation, to Italian citizens: that, even in times of difficulty, Italy is able to work together, trying to move as a community in order to reach objectives.
In my view, this is what is happening today, and it is an extremely valuable message. I think this is the first time that the whole of Italy’s economic system, the players of the agri-food and fast moving consumer goods supply chains, have signed a pact with the Government to keep shopping prices under control and help Italian families, especially those most in need.

This initiative is the result of a lot of work, involving discussions that have lasted several weeks, leading in the end to a concrete result that shows the Government that we are not alone in tackling the problems affecting this nation. It perhaps also shows the world of production that there is leadership, that this nation finally has a Government that knows how to listen and is also humble enough to ask for a helping hand when dealing with complex situations such as the one we find ourselves in.
This is the case with the inflationary spiral, which is something that is affecting all of Europe’s major economies, not just us. Since entering office, this Government has prioritised supporting households’ purchasing power, albeit with limited resources available, and we have done so by focusing those resources on helping families, with a lot of initiatives: those relating to high energy costs, the reduction in the tax wedge, the increase in the ‘assegno unico’ [‘single allowance’] amount paid to families with children, the cut in VAT on childcare products, the increase in pensions, the major revaluation of the minimum pension amount, the ‘Dedicated to you’ card for the purchase of foodstuffs, an initiative that has now also been extended to the purchase of fuel following a decision in one of the last Council of Ministers meetings.

We have tried to particularly support families in the face of the inflation problem and we have done so by focusing resources on low-to-medium incomes, a political choice I am proud of. We clearly cannot tackle this problem alone, which is why we have also asked the world of production for help, giving out the signal that we can work together. Today, we are taking another step forward with this tricolour Anti-Inflation Quarter pact: a three-month experiment to control the prices of fast moving consumer goods. It is an experiment, and I don’t know about you but I am very optimistic about the results because, clearly, if this initiative works well, we can then work together to prolong it.
However, I wish to close by once again sincerely thanking you. The most beautiful message we are sending out today is that, in this nation, we are still able to take each other by the hand, we are still able to work towards the same goal, we are still able to understand that there is no measure, there is no government, there is no one, that can really solve a problem unless the nation gives a hand. 
So, when we do things, when we set ourselves goals, and when we know there is a problem, all the more so when that problem does not depend on our own responsibilities, then what makes the difference is our ability to all work in the same direction, and this is a very powerful message in a nation where we have too often acted like monads, as if everyone else’s fate did not depend also on our individual choices.
Today, we have asked for this readiness, and I believe the fact that all these important players, these important organisations, are here, compact and united, is a very powerful signal indeed.

For this, I want to first of all thank you and the Ministers who came up with this initiative. Thank you again for being here. 

[Courtesy translation]