Il saggio riprende, con l’aggiunta di note, la relazione tenuta alla XIV edizione dei Seminari di Bertinoro. Dialoghi di diritto del lavoro tra cielo e mare dedicati al tema “Dal contratto di Governo agli interventi legislativi”, Bologna, 28-29 novembre 2018. Gli atti del Seminario saranno pubblicati nel 2019 con un e-book dell’Ipsoa.

The essay analyses the first changes of the employment relationships that have been realised by the new Italian government characterised by a populist approach (Movimento 5 stelle and Lega). After examining ‘the government’s contract’ of May 2018, the author focuses his attention on the Law Decree law n° 87/2018, converted into Law n° 96/2018. The question guiding this contribution is the following: are we dealing with a regressive discipline? The answer is based on the interpretation of the amendments relating to fixed-term contracts, to dismissals (having regard also to the consequences of the recent judgement n° 194/2018 of the Constitutional Court) and to vouchers. The author concludes defining the examined changes as ‘cosmetic measures’ of labour law, which was already profoundly revised by the former centre-left government. In the end, the risks of a paralysis are high while the signals of a new pro-labour age are weak.