The annual meeting of the ICE (the body that deals with the promotion of Italian products in the world) will be held on Friday in Naples, but it is not clear what report the new president Carlo Ferro will read to the public of operators and politicians.
A clamorous conflict arose over the content of the report with the Editorial Committee which, together with the Research Service of the Body, has been responsible for the report and its summary for over thirty years. A conflict that led to the resignation of the president of the Committee himself Fabrizio Onida, former president of ICE and internationally renowned academic expert on foreign trade problems.
President Ferro, appointed a year ago by the current government, did not like the tone of the summary considerations put forward by the Editorial Committee. The summary is accused of being long-winded, of containing pessimistic emphasis on the situation of the Italian economy on world markets and, lastly, , to make a kind of apology for the work of the Brussels Commission, evidently considered the bete noire by the current government coalition.
Un attitude deemed offensive in terms of method and merit by President Onida who took pen and paper and wrote a very harsh letter of resignation in which he contested Ferro's positions and concluded with his own resignation. A sensational gesture that will probably be followed by other members of the committee itself, all renowned teachers or experts in the field.
The oddity is that Carlo Ferro is a businessman. When he was appointed he was vice president of Assolombarda and for many years he had held positions at the top of St Microelectronics, a leading company in the high technology sector jointly controlled by France and Italy. He therefore hoped for a presidency attentive to the needs of businesses and rather detached from the demands of the political world which he certainly does not like criticism and indeed only appreciates propaganda, even the most blatant. And instead we found ourselves faced with a president who believes that if one is part of a government team, even in a technical role, he should highlight the positive things and leave in the shade not only the criticisms but even the hints of the need to complete certain technological advancement processes, or remember that there are still many things to do to make our industrial apparatus more efficient and its penetration of international markets more effective.
Also as regards, for example, foreign investments in Italy and Italians abroad, it is known that our country is not among the most attractive for international companies, while also the establishments abroad of our companies would need further supports.
Nor is it a question of original criticism given that all the international rankings show that Italy does not occupy a leading position in these fields. But evidently Ferro doesn't like teachers. He considers them too critical and not very attentive to problems of political balance. And instead for many years an institution like the ICE was able to play a technical role precisely because it based its analyzes and operations on professionalism and authority. Certainly there have been critical periods in the past with the questioning of the institution's operating methods. But for some years the ICE seemed to have found its own clear and more effective role. Now this pro-propaganda turn risks calling into question what has been done so far.
A "businessman" by virtue of tasks conferred by the public shareholder will be more sensitive to the logic of Government than to that of business... or not?
Curious then that a sovereign and populist government appoints a resident of Switzerland as head of the public body responsible for promoting Made in Italy!