The family continues to be our country’s greatest asset. It is the source to which we turn for values and practical support. It is not merely an ideal concept, centred on affection and relationships, but also a support network to fall back on in times of need. Although it has changed profoundly over the years, and its current forms are a far cry from the – at times cloying – discussions and portrayals we see in public and political debate. In Italy, there is much discussion about the family, but we are far from having adequate policies and services. Or, rather, we should speak of ‘families’ in the plural. Yes, because they are undergoing profound changes. And not just because they are having fewer children. Suffice it to say that in the last decade (2000–2009), compared with the previous one (1990–1999), the number of marriages preceded by cohabitation more than doubled, rising from 11 per cent to 27 per cent. And in the north of the country, this figure is now close to 50 per cent. Almost one in two young couples move out of their parents’ home to live together. They then have a child and get married. Meanwhile, we are still debating the recognition of rights for cohabiting couples. Not to mention marriages between people of different nationalities: these account for over a tenth of all marriages (13.9 per cent in 2009). Married, blended, single-parent, single-person, reconstituted and unmarried families: all different types of families – indeed, families in the plural.
And yet, they continue to quietly form the backbone of our welfare system from the grassroots up – the widespread support network. This resource, as economists point out, is also what enables Italy to withstand (for how much longer?) the blows that the economic crisis is inflicting better than other countries. Italian households are less indebted and have invested more in tangible assets (their homes). They are the true welfare system that is currently supporting the younger generations: through the uncertain transition of looking for work, by providing a home when they decide to live together (and then get married), and by drawing on the savings and investments accumulated over time, back when such things were still possible. However, these savings are now being depleted faster than people can set aside new funds at this stage, thus causing concern and leading to a reduction in spending.
Families are a fundamental part of our social capital. The problem is that all too often they are left to cope with complicated situations on their own: the lack of childcare services and nurseries for their (few) young children forces young couples to rely on grandparents or their wider family network; there are still very few companies that take the issues faced by working mothers seriously; not to mention the large number of migrant women who care for the elderly in their homes. That is not to say that, across the country – particularly in certain regions – there are not efficient, state-of-the-art public services (as well as those provided by the private social sector). But these are isolated cases rather than a system. Moreover, the crisis in public resources makes everything more complicated for the public sector: on the one hand, it has dwindling financial resources; on the other, demand for services from the population tends to increase and, above all, to diversify. This explains why, in social perceptions – even more so than in reality – public services play a marginal role in the collective imagination. People turn to them almost as a last resort, if no other options are available. In this attitude, however, we must also recognise the dimension of individual dignity. Turning to the public sector in times of need means making one’s difficulties public: this can be stigmatising in the eyes of others. As long as it is possible, it is better to turn to one’s family, relatives or friends. In extreme cases, people turn to loan sharks. It is a sense of modesty that comes into play in these choices. At the same time, however, these phenomena highlight just how far we still have to go – not only in organisational terms but also culturally – to establish public services not as an alternative to, but as a complement to, the family sphere.
