By Christmas, or at the latest by next January, the decision will be made succession of Carlo Bonomi at the summit of Confindustria. It is a delicate choice because Bonomi has brought the business association to a minimum of credibility and authority and therefore a real turning point, almost a revolution, would be necessary. Now by February the wise men will have to indicate to the 183 members of the Council the names of the candidates for the vote which is scheduled for April 4th.
Confindustria: three names running for president
For now there are three entrepreneurs at the starting line. It's about Emanuele Orsini former president of Federlegno and current vice president for Credit and Finance of Confindustria; Alberto Marenghi papermaker from Mantua, but now moved to Verona; And John Brugnoli of Varese who has already dealt with various Confindustria issues including Luiss.
Three bad figures from the current Confindustria president, Carlo Bonomi
The choice is more complex than usual. The current presidency has proved to be below expectations and has brought the association to a truly dangerous level of irrelevance. Beyond the strange dismissal of the general director which occurred in an unusual manner a few months before the deadline, there have been some gaffes, such as that of Bonomi's candidacy for the presidency of the FIGC (Italian Football Federation) judged incompatible with remaining in Confindustria, or the one, not officially declared, to the presidency of Enel. Serious there bad figure remedied with the candidacy for the presidency of Luiss for which the transfer of the current Confindustria apartment in Via Veneto to the University to house the president was also envisaged. In fact, it has been discovered that to hold the position of president of a University you need to be a graduate and Bonomi is not. He therefore became president of Luiss Luigi Gubitosi (financial expert already at Fiat, Rai and Tim) it is not clear with what mandate, but certainly not to keep Bonomi's place warm.
Confindustria: a clear political line was missing
Even more serious on Bonomi's part is the lack of a real line to which Confindustria's "policy" can be anchored. Not a policy regarding parties, but a policy capable of explaining to all Italians what Italian entrepreneurs actually want and why these choices of theirs go in the direction of the general interest of the country. For example on minimum salary Confindustria was essentially absent, limiting itself to saying that their contracts are higher than 9 Euros and that therefore the issue does not concern them. On the contrary, the minimum wage brings with it the necessary revision of the entire industrial relations structure, an issue that will certainly no longer leave entrepreneurs indifferent, especially when it is stated left and right that we need to gain competitiveness.
Confindustria: a profound crisis
It is clear that the crisis of Confindustria derives in part from the general crisis of all intermediate structures and affects the trade unions and general category representatives with the exception therefore of those strictly corporate representatives who still know how to defend their particular interests well, such as, for example, they are doing the beach resorts e taxi drivers. But Confindustria's crisis appears deeper. The so-called democratization of elections has not led to greater participation of small businesses in Confindustria affairs, but to the occupation of positions by many small entrepreneurs, often without any company left, in order to gain visibility. Moreover, this practice according to which every past president rightfully occupies the position of president of Luiss does not give a good image either to Luiss or to Confindustria.
For the new Confindustria president, a real turning point is needed
It would therefore be necessary a president who has the desire to rebuild Confindustria on new bases, suited to the times we are living in. It is not a question of going back to the past when there were four or five large companies that dominated the association, but of finding a way to strengthen the representation of companies not only and not so much from the point of view of the Lobby, but mainly under the cultural aspect and values, in a country, let's not forget, which has never loved businesses, which looks with suspicion at those who, thanks to merit, achieve results in life, which prefers a do-goodism which results in the stagnation and marginalization of many people, especially the younger ones.
Confindustria Presidency: a new spokesperson for industrialists
This time therefore, the race for the presidency of Confindustria takes on importance not only for the association but also for the country which needs civil society points of reference to be able to emerge from the swamp of stagnation in which we have found ourselves for over twenty years. For this reason, many company representatives are moving to convince other large entrepreneurs to declare their willingness to take on the role of "spokesperson" (as Lawyer Agnelli said) of the industrialists. We talk about ancestry, current vice president for labor relations, or of Pasini, a steel industrialist from Brescia. But for now no one has expressed the will to take on this burden. There are still two or three months left and anything can happen.
