Since the dawn of time, elective appointments or nominations by citizens to hold public offices has been a topic of great interest and irresistible charm.
The world is full of examples and anecdotes to establish the necessary rules for choosing the best governors. A delightful tale by Phaedrus tells a lot about the interests at stake and the solicitations that come from the subjects, when it comes to discussing who is the most welcome sovereign.
When the frogs, noisy and dissolute, says Phaedrus, ask Zeus to appoint a king since they cannot agree among themselves on who to elect, Zeus thinks of satisfying them with an inconsistent and worthless king. A Travicello king.
The frogs are resentful, they return to Zeus and this time they find themselves the exact opposite of the first, a tyrant king, a snake that begins to devour the imprudent ones. Phaedrus therefore seems to advise us that it is better to tolerate an unpleasant situation than to change it for the worse. An ante litteram version of excellent Pareto.
This fable has come to mind now that the political/media assault on the Bank of Italy has begun for the reappointment or otherwise of Governor Visco. However, no one indicates merits or demerits, that is, explains why he should be confirmed or replaced; positions are often taken on behalf of third parties, according to political or even worse partisan conveniences, to keep the debate open.
It is well known that Parliament - which is due to expire today - does not have much say in the appointment of the Governor, as the procedure is extremely complex and involves the highest levels of the republican system, with a prominent position of the Head of Government and the President of the Republic.
Article 19, paragraph 8, of the Law of 28 December 2005, n. 262 (Provisions for the protection of savings and the regulation of financial markets) in fact states that the appointment of the Governor is arranged by decree of the President of the Republic, on the proposal of the President of the Council of Ministers, following a resolution by the Council of Ministers, having heard the opinion of the Superior Council of the Bank of Italy. The procedure also applies for its revocation. The office, up to 2005 with no term limit, now lasts six years, and can be renewed only once.
There is also no doubt that the reconfirmation or otherwise of Dr. Visco, which expires on October 31, would be the work of a government that could be completely different in 2018, after the general elections. Without prejudice to the independence prerogatives of the Bank of Italy, the Governor could find himself in the situation of not being in harmony with the next government in the long-term choices that will have to be made.
In fact, there are quite a few instances which, in relation to the credit system, need to be resolved in a perspective that will take several years.
Among these, we recall the launch of the reform of the cooperative credit system, which as a whole represents the third largest bank in the country, and the attention required by the consolidation process that has begun in recent months with the rescue of a large number of local banks in crisis and which is likely to continue.
Likewise in this long list we can include the need for the industrial reconfiguration of the system, still too labor intensive (up to 2023 the net outflows of personnel are estimated at over 50.000 units) and the closure of branches will continue (6000 units between 2008 and 2017, of which 1.000 in the first half of this year), with the necessary growth in investments to increase the rate of automation of banking services.
Then there are the negotiations within the European Union on fundamental issues such as the establishment of a single deposit guarantee system among the countries of the Union, the methods for direct recapitalization of banks by the ESM in the event of a crisis, as well as the assimilation of national peculiarities to those of the Banking Union.
Finally, the stock of net bad bank loans remains high, albeit declining, which in July 2017 was still equal to 66 billion, against 36 at the beginning of the crisis.
It is not an exhaustive list, but in itself it gives an idea of the extent of the issues at stake, which require maximum authority and absolute unity of purpose.
These are structural issues also referred to in the conference on Good Finance, held in recent days in Rome, on the initiative of the CGIL, which saw the participation of Minister Padoan, the President of ABI Patuelli and the general and sector leaders of that union . The emphasis was obviously different from speaker to speaker, but the concerns are common to all.
In fact, the process of modernizing the banking system is predicated, which is a vital issue for the ability of our economy to compete effectively with our natural competitors.
Our proposal is therefore simple: extension of the current Governor until the constitution of the new government in 2018, which, after the vote, will be able to deal with his reconfirmation or his replacement with more legitimate reasons, in a context of strategic management of the relevant issues mentioned below.
As Phaedrus reminds us, if each of us has what he deserves, as rulers at least we respect this principle to the end: it's still the beauty of democracy and it doesn't matter that the new Governor doesn't have to go to Parliament to present his program , as happens instead in the USA, for the Federal Reserve and in Europe for the ECB, when they have to choose a new President.
