The new Giunta of Bologna, after the degradation of the city due to the scandal of the previous mayor and the subsequent commissioning, has adopted a procedure for public appointments which restores the city to military honors and which could be an example for other cities. Procedure adopted in the most appropriate time to counter the effects of the recent referendum. Therefore, the title given to the article by MT Scorzoni which appeared on this site on June 9th (“Public appointments revolution in Bologna”) did not seem to me at all exaggerated.
The pitch. The Municipality of Bologna participates in 18 joint-stock companies, each deemed "strictly necessary" for the pursuit of its institutional purposes. This in order to comply with the 2008 financial law which also prohibits local authorities from participating in companies that are not "strictly necessary". In 2008, the fees paid to the directors and statutory auditors of investee companies cost them respectively 4,280 and 0,927 million euro. In the case of Hera Spa (listed multi-utility company) the fees of the 16 non-operating directors amounted to 1,656 million euro; in the case of Enel and Eni respectively 0,832 and 1,009 million euros.
In turn, the three most important companies (Hera, Aeroporto and Fiera) have 53, 6 and 20 companies respectively, with wholly owned, majority, minority or one-person shareholdings. Overall, there are almost one hundred companies directly or indirectly owned by the Municipality of Bologna. It is quite clear that in the absence of transparency rules, like what happens in all the Municipalities that hold shareholdings, at the time of the appointments these are decided in the rooms of the parties, of the Region, of the Province, of the trade associations, of the banking foundations and the most diverse more or less cultural associations (whose interweaving constitutes a real political and party kamasutra).
In political language, at the appropriate moment "a table is opened" for the appointments in which the diners proceed, as in some university competitions, to the table round: one for me, one for you and so on. In the division of available seats it often happens that "shares are weighed and not counted", rarely that "shares are counted and not weighed", often that "hidden political shareholders" decide.
The procedure adopted on 21 June by the Giunta of Bologna. While acknowledging that there is nothing scandalous in the fact that the aforementioned subjects try to occupy some seats with some associates, the new procedure aims to bring to the light of the sun, and therefore avoid, what happened during the kamasutra mentioned above. Thus the ancient maxim in use for the regulation of the financial markets is satisfied, namely that "the sun is the best antidote to the onset of many diseases".
The procedure adopted is quite simple. The Municipality must preliminarily give adequate and timely publicity, on its website, of the positions to be filled for the expiring appointments. The subjects, who should be proud of possessing the moral and professional qualities for the management of public affairs, send, via the web, to a committee of three "Sages" (unpaid, appointed by the Mayor and not by the Council or even by the Giunta), an expression of willingness to hold a position accompanied by one's curriculum vitae, which will be posted on the Municipality's website.
In this regard, some have objected that the public declaration of availability accompanied by the curriculum (possibly accompanied by letters from esteemed referees), since it is online, could constitute an insurmountable obstacle for the "best": due to lack of pride? But nothing prevents the sponsors from intervening (individuals or trade associations who are not victims of virginal impulses: it would seem very strange to me) to proceed with public candidacies certifying the moral and professional merits of their candidates, putting the curriculum that confirms the qualities.
The "Sages" (in the persons named yesterday: Maria Carla Schiavina, entrepreneur; Renzo Costi, jurist; Luigi Montuschi, labor jurist) examined the material published on the specific public domain site and suggested, in a non-binding manner, to the Mayor the most appropriate candidacy, ensuring that every single nomination proposal is based on requirements that guarantee that the institution's action is transparent, effective and efficient in pursuing the objectives established by the strategic plans of the Municipality. In this specific case, it is a question of guaranteeing that the decisions of investee companies in urban planning matters (such as Fiera Spa) are consistent with the town planning policy of the Municipality. It remains within the Mayor's faculty to accept or not the proposal. That's all. At the light of the Sun.
* Economist, professor at the University of Bologna, former Consob commissioner
