ROME -- Current Italian Minister of Labour and Social Policies, Giuliano Poletti, unleashed uproar when discussing the so-called ‘brain drain’ of Italian students and academics fleeing the country, claiming the Italy will “certainly not suffer” from their exit.

 Poletti claimed, “100,000 young people have ‘escaped?’ Well, I know people who have left the country and the country will certainly not suffer from no longer having them. The 60 million that remain are not all of the ‘gun.’”

 The Minister later backtracked, “I have expressed myself badly.”

 Luigi De Maio of the Five Star Movement Party wrote over Twitter, “Youngsters humiliated by vouchers and insulted by Poletti. He should go, not them.”

 In further reaction to the Minister’s controversial and “offensive” quotes, Michele Boccardi, Puglia senator of the Forza Italia party, said, “Our young compatriots, especially in the South, who abandon their own land because it is impossible to find work here to go and look abroad, deserve the utmost respect. The words of the Minister really leave us stunned.”

 In the first 10 months of 2016, more than 1.3 million open-ended contracts have been signed in Italy, whilst terminations, again always open-ended, were at 1,308,680 with a positive balance of 61,640 units.

 In the same period of January to October, 121.5 million vouchers were sold for the payment of ancillary work performance, of the nominal value of 10 euros.

 Speaking in Fano in the Marche region, Poletti said the government is “ready to redefine, from a regulatory point of view, the confines of the use of the vouchers,” adding, “We have introduced traceability, and next month we will see the effects.”

 The Minister later claimed that the Jobs Act is a good law: “A good law that has done well and is good for the country. So, I do not see now any reason to take action.”

 Poletti concluded, “Like all things, it has to be watched over time to see the results. If it turns out that there are elements of concern, as always we will evaluate.”

 sw