A plan for the banking system, new measures on pensions and tighter control of public spending. These are the demands Repubblica Futura (RF) is putting to San Marino’s government following the International Monetary Fund’s visit as part of the Article IV consultation. The party acknowledges the economic growth recorded since the Covid pandemic, but is calling for action on problems it considers still unresolved.
“The approach we want to maintain is absolutely not meant to be defeatist, nor should this report be used merely for political propaganda purposes,” RF stresses. The party is urging recognition of the positive results while at the same time “taking seriously the critical points that should have been addressed long ago and which, in the coming months, will inevitably have to be tackled.”
The first issue raised concerns the fragility of the banking and financial system, whose credibility, according to the party, continues to suffer from scandals and judicial investigations. RF is asking the government and the Central Bank to define a strategy that can seize the opportunities offered by the Association Agreement with the European Union, also citing a resolution passed by the Finance Committee.
“Failing to do so would mean missing an enormous opportunity and plunging the system into an irreversible crisis,” Repubblica Futura argues. “Absolute transparency is needed—for example on the issue of non-performing loans (NPLs)—along with the goal of consolidating our system ahead of its opening, which RF has always advocated, to new, leading European operators.” At the heart of the request, therefore, are non-performing loans and the opening of the banking market.
The second issue is the sustainability of pensions. According to RF, the last reform had a limited time horizon and required follow-up measures, the absence of which from political debate the party laments. “We believe it is the government’s primary duty to ensure the sustainability of pension funds and to make sure the burden doesn’t always fall on the same people.”
The issue is linked to population ageing and demographic decline. “Clear ideas and in-depth studies are needed to secure a future for the Republic, especially in light of the constant ageing of the population and an equally dramatic demographic decline. This is perhaps the most important and difficult challenge.”
On the issue of public spending, RF denounces an increase it considers out of control. In its statement, the party points to a rise in public employees from around 3,600 in 2019 to over 4,100 projected for 2026, alongside growing spending on consultancies and the expenses of the Congress of State.
In Repubblica Futura’s reading, the International Monetary Fund’s warning is aimed at preventing the Association Agreement from becoming a pretext for further hiring, urging instead a focus on merit and on upgrading the skills of staff already in service. Added to this is the management of foreign debt, on which RF raises concerns about sustainability.
“We believe these are the most pressing issues on which those in government must provide a precise action plan, without which, unfortunately, the future ahead of us looks truly worrying,” the party states. “Repubblica Futura will continue to make its contribution through constructive proposals, aware that we can no longer turn a blind eye and that we need to focus on what is genuinely necessary, rather than on marginal issues that increasingly look like mere smokescreens.”
