“We feel like those on the front lines without having adequate support behind us for the harshness of the battle that is taking place”. Gianfranco Carbonato, president of the Industrial Union of Turin, talks about the state of mind of many entrepreneurs who flocked to the Bergamo meetings to express this malaise and to seek, without unnecessary alarmism but with firmness, a possible way out of this situation of suffering. “The high turnout of entrepreneurs at an event that took place behind closed doors, and therefore without great showmanship, demonstrates that deeply felt issues were addressed.
After all, in Italy, few social groups feel the effects of international competition firsthand. Only entrepreneurs experience the effort of those who have to measure themselves daily on international markets. And they feel that politicians do not have in their Agenda the commitment to support the competitiveness of enterprises. Entrepreneurs are experiencing, like other social groups, a growing detachment from politics, from its way of debating, from its inability to make decisions consistent with the need to restart the country's development". Carbonato, who is president of a medium-sized company that works all over the world, knows what the problems of companies are. It is not a question of having subsidies, but of setting up an action for recovery and reforms that lead to an overall increase in productivity.
And Confindustria must propose itself as a serious and credible interlocutor of the Government with which it must have a dialectical and balanced relationship but remaining firm on its own ideas. “Everyone must be made to understand – says Carbonato – that the entrepreneurs of Confindustria do not make requests, but put forward proposals that are not only based on a particular interest, but are also reconciled with the general interest of the country to resume a path of growth." Confindustria therefore maintains an important function as representative of the business system. But it too must surely review its functioning, keep up with the times. “Yes, even Confindustria - Carbonato states- must quickly face a phase of renewal, streamlining and reorganization.
Perhaps today some traditional functions are no longer at the center of the system, such as the trade union one for example, even if, as we have recently seen with the Fiat case, our organization must be more innovative and more proactive. Today, however, innovation and internationalization are at the top of the interests of companies and we must do more in this area both directly and in relations with the Government." From an organizational point of view, Carbonato believes that today “there is a system on too many levels which makes management too complex. We need to start an important reform that better focuses the system on what to do and reduces too many levels of representation.” But sometimes on this road, obstacles are also placed by entrepreneurs who aspire to positions in the association. ” It would be enough to think that holding a position in an association is not a status symbol but it is a commitment that entrepreneurs assume out of a spirit of service and sometimes with sacrifice, having to subtract precious time from working in their own company.” Therefore, the tasks for the new presidency are thus outlined which, moreover, well in advance, already sees some prestigious names in Italian industry in the field.
“It seems early to talk about it – says Carbonato – and in any case all the names you read are certainly of great depth. What needs to be talked about now and what to do and how to get there. In any case, I hope that there is a widely shared designation because it takes a lot of strength and a lot of consensus to make reforms. We have many open fronts external and internal to our association. Never before has there been a need for a unified spirit and a sense of responsibility, certainly not real or presumed conflicts of power”.
