The industrialists of the Northeast seem to have already withdrawn the opening of credit which, as per practice, they grant to the new governments. The management of the Ilva case, the mess with the Plastic Tax, the controversial Sugar tax: it only took a few months and the cold has already subsided between the productive world and the Conte bis government. Luciano Vescovi has been leading Confindustria Vicenza since 2016, over 1.600 associated companies, almost 85 employees, one of the most powerful and listened to Confindustria companies in the country. «The Conte bis government has perpetuated the anti-industrial attitude that also characterized the previous one, with Di Maio who made his debut with the infamous "borrowers"», anticipates the president Luciano Vescovi.
You recently declared that “this government has done even worse than the previous one”. Where did the definitive break between industrialists and executives take place?
«Let's make a premise: the Dignity Decree has fossilized a labor market which, in order to be able to compete in Europe and in the world, must instead be kept flexible and equipped with active labor and welfare policy tools worthy of a Western country. Then came Quota 100 and Citizenship Income. The first is an absurd pension, in the sense that our accounts can't handle it. The second is absurd both from an economic point of view and from an approach. As conceived, it is an affront to the world of work. Here, of all these things, not a single one has been changed. The Dignity Decree, Quota 100 and RdC have not even been questioned. They are there and continue to do damage.
And arriving at the specific measures of the Conte bis government?
«With the maneuver, they added, overnight Plastic tax and Sugar tax which have been passed off as ethical taxes when in fact they are nothing more than levies that only serve to raise cash to keep absurd waste going. By the way, the Alitalia mess should also be mentioned, on the long wave that comes from Berlusconi, and the masterpiece of the penal shield on Ilva for which instead of demanding compliance with the contract from Arcelor Mittal, it was given a loophole to solve it on its own favor".
Having ascertained that the rift between entrepreneurs from the North is widening more and more, an event that usually does not herald good news for the stability of the legislature, and the government, what will be the next decisions that you will evaluate with great attention?
«In the meantime, let's see how the soap opera on the maneuver will end, because a new one emerges every day. Then we will certainly continue the negotiations on the Plastic tax, which simply must be removed. And then, with regard to anti-business attitudes, there is the open question of the tax decree linked to the maneuver. There are measures that risk seriously jeopardizing the normal business activity. Having said that those who escape must be prosecuted because they damage the community and alter the market, the hypothesis of extended confiscation would lead, without any sentence, not even in the first degree, to the blocking of company current accounts. It means that suppliers and even employees are no longer paid. Without even a sentence. But do we realize what country we would become? This is a way of saying to entrepreneurs: sell your company as soon as possible and retire to the market. We do not want this fate either for our entrepreneurs or for the country".
Turning to the macro data of the Vicenza and Veneto economy, in recent weeks you sounded the alarm: “To date, we can only say that we are in a zero economy. So be careful, because after zero, there is a happy decrease”. Even the 145th economic survey of Confindustria Vicenza describes in fact a full-blown stagnation of economic growth. Which sectors are suffering the most at the end of 2019?
«In a climate of uncertainty like these, the sectors are good one quarter and not the other. This is what we live in recent times, for this we need certainties at least from our country, together with the possibility of being flexible to compete with China, the USA, Germany and the rest of the world. But beyond today's situation, the problem is that our entrepreneurs are worried about the future. And when there is no confidence in future growth, less is invested and less is hired. Ultimately, the GDP stops. And the last registration of the sentiment of our entrepreneurs, in fact, has reached an all-time low».
Mechanics, in all its various specialties, has always been the flagship of Vicenza manufacturing. What are the prospects in this sector for 2020?
«It will depend a lot on the international context. The real problem is that theautomotive German, which drives a huge and very important supply chain for our mechanics, it seems it will take a long time to get out of the vulnerability created by the "Diesel gate". Our companies will be affected by this, but when these situations occur, our strength is to find new solutions and new markets. I think we would do it again this time ».
How worried are you about the different areas of turbulence hovering over international markets, first and foremost the tariff war inaugurated by Donald Trump? What data do you have for 2020 on the economic cost of any major tightening of international trade policies?
«It is impossible to make a precise estimate because, here too, Trump and the other leaders are constantly negotiating and often heralding announcements that are denied the next day. What we can say, however, is that the world is large and that, despite the duties, in the first 9 months of 2019 exports from Vicenza, third by absolute value and first per capita in Italy, grew by 2,36% compared to 2018 was a record year».
In conclusion, what idea have the Vicenza entrepreneurs made of how the strategic question of the Month?
"That it was only an electoral campaign, once again carefully avoiding dealing with the priorities of this country".
