«Politics isn’t running late when it decides to act. It arrives on time when it recognizes a problem and chooses to tackle it». This was the response from Paolo Crescentini (PSD) to the criticism raised during the debate on the bill dedicated to family and birth rates, discussed and approved by the Grand and General Council (Consiglio Grande e Generale). The PSD announced a «full and convinced vote in favour».
Crescentini also defended the time taken to reach the second reading. The motion dates back to March 2025, but the councillor argued it was right to favour a longer dialogue with social partners, employers’ associations and political forces, rather than rushing a law through simply to «patch up the problem». This was also the reason behind his thanks to Secretary of State Stefano Canti.
On the substance of the bill, Crescentini highlighted some of its key measures: a baby bonus, equal parental leave for fathers and mothers, paternity leave extended from 10 to 20 days, provisions for caregivers, and a pregnancy allowance for unemployed women. According to the PSD, these measures can offer a «breath of fresh air» for families, though he stressed they are not expected to immediately reverse the decline in births on their own.
Indeed, the councillor acknowledged that the falling birth rate is a much broader phenomenon, tied to profound changes in society, education, employment and the choices young people make. The law, therefore, is not presented as a definitive solution but as «a good starting point». Crescentini concluded by expressing regret that the Chamber did not reach unanimity, while acknowledging the opposition’s decision to abstain rather than vote against the bill.
Below is his full address.
Paolo Crescentini (PSD): «I believe that politics is not running late when it decides to act. Politics arrives on time when it recognizes a problem and chooses to address it. This law, which today comes up for its second reading and adoption, moves precisely in that direction. In this regard, I would first like to thank Secretary of State Canti for the work carried out over this long period. It’s true that the motion dates back to March 2025, but we have always said it is better to take an extra month to draft a good law than to rush things just to appear to be patching up the problem. We wanted to approach this in a much broader way. The Secretary of State patiently held numerous meetings with social partners, employers’ representatives and political forces in Committee. I must say the work was truly thorough and led to the drafting of this law which, as we too acknowledge, is not a finishing line but represents a good starting point. It certainly isn’t the case that, if births are few today, they will suddenly multiply tomorrow. But this law provides support, introduces incentives and represents, I repeat, a good starting point, not least because it contains significant measures: the baby bonus, equal parental leave for fathers and mothers, and the strengthening of paternity leave, let us remember, which goes from 10 to 20 days. There is also the introduction of the caregiver figure and, further, the synergy created between work and family, for example through the pregnancy allowance for unemployed women. These are all measures that will certainly bring benefits and give families a breath of fresh air. At the same time, however, we must ask ourselves why the phenomenon of declining birth rates exists at all. These are certainly no longer the days when large families were the norm. Today the world has changed completely, and naturally the Republic of San Marino has changed with it. With schooling and university studies now pursued by young men and women, there is understandably a desire among young people to build a career and establish themselves professionally. All of this has also led to a reversal of the old trend. When our grandparents were young, families were much larger, partly because labour was needed for family work, in the fields and in agriculture. Today, fortunately I would say, we are no longer in that era. Society has made giant strides, has progressed, wellbeing has increased and we must continue to increase it. Unfortunately, it is true that our country has seen a reversal in birth trends, but we have already observed for the past 15 to 20 years that the trend has been declining. With this law we want to give a breath of fresh air, but at the same time also hope, so that the number of children in San Marino can begin to grow again. I repeat, this is not only our problem, but concerns much of the world. In recent days we have seen other countries tackling this issue forcefully through various measures. Today we are giving the first answers. I say again: this law is not a finishing line, but a good starting point, and for this I thank Secretary of State Canti. It is encouraging to hear that even the opposition forces will not vote against the law. The opposition will abstain. We would have liked to send a strong signal with a unanimous vote from the Chamber. That will not be the case, but so be it. As the PSD, we will give our full and convinced vote in favour of the bill that Secretary of State Canti has brought before the Council Chamber».
