The new law in support of the family, motherhood and the birth rate represents, for the PDCS (Sammarinese Christian Democratic Party), a concrete step toward addressing one of the problems weighing on San Marino’s future: the falling birth rate and the difficulties faced by those who want to have children and build a family.
“With the final approval of the new law in support of the family, motherhood and the birth rate, San Marino today takes an important and concrete step in its social policies,” said the Christian Democratic Party, describing the measure as the result of “a long process of dialogue”.
For the party, the declining birth rate goes well beyond simple numbers. “It is a social, economic and cultural challenge that directly concerns our country’s future sustainability,” the statement reads. This is why the law brings together several tools designed to support families through different stages of life.
Among the new measures highlighted is the strengthening of protections for maternity and parenthood. Economic support for maternity is being extended to unemployed women without access to social safety nets, while paternity leave increases from 10 to 20 paid days. Parental leave allowances are also being raised, and time spent caring for children will now count toward career advancement.
“An important choice, because becoming a mother must not translate into a professional disadvantage,” the PDCS stresses.
The law also addresses more vulnerable situations, with measures aimed at student mothers and single-parent families. These are complemented by interventions on nursery school fees, school meals, family allowances and a one-thousand-euro baby bonus. The possibilities for part-time work for parents are also being expanded, along with leave to accompany children to medical appointments.
A central chapter concerns the family caregiver. “After years of debate, recognition is finally being given to those who dedicate time, energy and often part of their professional life to caring daily for a family member who cannot live independently,” the Christian Democratic Party states.
For the party, this is a new development that broadens the scope of family policy, encompassing not only births and childhood but also disability, the elderly and care for vulnerable people.
The PDCS therefore thanks the Secretary of State for the Family, Stefano Canti, his staff, the party’s council group and its working group. The reform, the statement notes, came after “numerous rounds of dialogue within the party itself, with other political forces and with social partners”.
One issue considered decisive, however, remains unresolved: housing. “No law, on its own, can reverse overnight a demographic trend with deep roots,” the PDCS acknowledges, adding that politics must continue to pay “the utmost attention to the problem of ‘finding a home’, which requires more effective responses than those currently in place”.
The law is therefore presented as the first building block of a broader path forward. “With this law, the Sammarinese Christian Democratic Party has chosen to invest in the family, in time devoted to care, in motherhood and fatherhood,” the statement concludes, because “supporting those who bring life into the world, raise and care for others means investing directly in the future of the Republic of San Marino”.
