Now that the Constitutional Court, with a delay no less guilty than those who voted for that law, has decreed the unconstitutionality of the Porcellum, how likely is the Letta government to last at least until 2015? None, if the government continues along the line of floating and postponing. Many if, on the other hand, it decidedly changes course and takes the path of reforms. In short, Letta's future depends on Letta.
Sergio Marchionne gave him good advice. Commenting on the positive performance of the automotive sector in Spain, where his recipe (flexibility, productivity, responsibility) has been successfully applied, the CEO of Crysler-Fiat said: "we must do like Spain which has moved forward on the rules for the work, in the fight against bureaucracy and in the reform of the public administration The electoral reform must certainly be carried out but economic reforms must also be carried out, without compromise. We must ask the country to adapt to global rules to attract investment, otherwise we will not succeed".
So spoke Marchionne so loved in America as little considered in Italy. Letta's problem is not, as is too often said, Renzi who, in any case, of the three suitors for the secretariat of the Democratic Party is by far the best. Letta's problem is the Reforms. “Hic Rodus, hic salta” Marx would have said, here is Rhodes and here you have to jump! If Letta, perhaps also thanks to Renzi's goad, opens a season of reforms, his government will last and he will acquire the political weight to which he aspires and which he deserves. Otherwise it will be better for everyone to go to elections as soon as a new electoral law is passed.
What are the reforms to be done? They are those that make it possible to increase the productivity of labour, plants and the state and those that determine a significant reduction in the stock of debt whose relationship with GDP continues to worsen not because we squander money (as the Germans think) but because we do not grow more. All the reforms that make it possible to enhance human capital go in the first direction, namely: the reform of the school and educational system, that of the University and that of professional training. Just as the reform of the labor market (the Fornero reform must be completed and not canceled), that of employment services (encouraging private individuals to lend a hand) and that of social safety nets (which must be temporary and finalized to reuse).
Finally, a decisive contribution to the increase in productivity can come from a radical reform of the industrial relations system. Passing from national negotiation to corporate and territorial negotiation, from antagonism to co-management, from indifference to the future fate of the company to the common assumption of responsibility would make the country take a big step forward. It would recognize workers' role in the production process and, by rewarding their productivity, it would create value for everyone: for workers, for entrepreneurs and for the country.
These reforms do not cost much but they involve a radical change in the mentality of the country, they require new behaviors and even a new social ethic. Of course, they mark the end of positional rents, even miserable ones such as the undue subsidy, and they mark the end of the era in which social conquests over time became acquired universal rights. Unfortunately we can no longer afford it, we better resign ourselves.
On the other hand, the reform of credit to businesses (first of all putting an end to the credit lockout that is in progress), support for public and private research, aid to start-ups, the valorisation of national vocations (culture, tourism, food) and the defense of our productive excellence (large healthy companies and the system of medium and small enterprises).
To this end, the simplification of procedures, the reform of the PA and the reduction of the tax wedge are decisive. In all fields, one must focus on merit, professionalism, responsibility and know-how: in the end, it is man who determines development and it is on the professional heritage of the workers, on the entrepreneurial spirit of initiative and on the skills of researchers that you have to rely on to grow again. Modernizing the country, reforming it, liberalizing the economy and opening it up to competition and international markets is the only way out of the crisis. The government can and must take this path: it is not a question of resources but of political will.
This will must also manifest itself in the determination with which it attacks the stock of public debt that clips the wings of the country and jeopardizes the future of the new generations. Davide Serra, Renzi's financial advisor, is right when he reminds everyone that the debt accumulated against the new generations, whom we are asking today to guarantee us those privileges that will be denied to them, is now such as to concretely pave the way for an intergenerational war which, should it burst, would be very, very painful for that generation (the selfish generation as it has been christened) that contracted that debt without ever wondering how and who would pay it.
Debt relief is achieved in two ways. The first is that of the transfer to the market in whole or in part of public, national or local companies that private individuals can manage better than the public in a competitive regime. The State is not responsible for managing companies but for ensuring adequate guidelines and controls. It's not an easy road to take, as the events in Genoa demonstrate, but it's an obligatory road. The second is that of the passage from the rationalization of spending (spending review) to the restructuring of the state (reinventing government).
It is the entire administrative and service machinery, that is, which must be revisited in the light of the criteria of necessity, efficiency and effectiveness. England, the United States, Germany and today Spain were subjected to this type of review in years long gone. Liberal (Thatcher), progressive (Blair and Schroder) and popular moderate (Rajoy) governments have done so. It's time for Italy to do it too. Whoever will be able to bring these reforms into their own hands and carry them out concretely will be able to count on the country's gratitude and, I believe, also on the consent of the voters.
