There can be no robust growth recovery, no modern capitalism, without modern institutions. The overcoming of equal bicameralism and the reform of local autonomies are at hand. In a modern democracy, anyone who opposes a reform or a government should put forward alternative proposals that are immediately feasible and not oppose it just to stall or weaken the opponent.
The new president of Confindustria Vincenzo Boccia could not have been clearer than this. Even if the official decision on the October referendum will be taken in a month, the heart of the Boccia's first report to the Assembly of the industrial association it was all political. And it could not have been otherwise. The constitutional changes and the consequent greater streamlining and clarity of government decisions are the indispensable premise for making the Italian system make the change of pace necessary to be able to take full advantage of the opening up of international markets.
Ministers Franceschini and Calenda obviously took sides on this line. The first, more political, said he "feels sad for those who, faced with reforms that he too had been asking for for years, are now against it for personal reasons". The second technically demonstrated how the current confusion of powers paralyzes any economic initiative, preventing growth and therefore greater employment opportunities. “The reform makes citizens the true masters of Italy, it does not create any dictatorship of Renzi”, concluded Calenda.
But the political imprint of Boccia's speech was not limited to the referendum. The new president of Confindustria has taken significant positions on Europe, on immigration, on Schengen. The right answer to people's fears and to the current inefficiencies of European governance does not lie in seeking refuge in nationalism, the dangers of which the old continent has already painfully experienced, or in irresponsible populism, but in multiplying the commitment to change what goes to Europe. Starting with the intergovernmental method to return to the "community method of shared responsibility", in order to mitigate the differences between states and enhance what unites. Lega supporters and pentastellati must not have liked these passages very much.
But this does not mean that the new Confindustria will be flat on the Renzi government. Convergence is objective on constitutional reforms and on maintaining open borders. A modern industry must accept the challenge of international competition also because – this is Boccia's conviction – we can offer the world products, culture and natural landscapes that are already much desired today. It's just a matter of changing our organization to be able to offer them in higher and better quality and quantity. Confindustria's recipes are precise on how to arrive at that leap in competitiveness essential to accelerating our growth and it is said that they do not always coincide with those of the Government, even if Minister Calenda received convinced approval from the industrial audience, when he listed the priorities he intends to assign to the action of his ministry.
In the more detailed part of the report on the measures to be taken, Boccia wanted to start with a strong reminder of the need that the first to change must be the entrepreneurs, abandoning the old employer culture to accept capital, new governance models, external managers in order to grow to a size suitable to compete on international markets. Of course, regaining lost productivity is the responsibility of the whole country. And in the first place there is the renewal of industrial relations to bring negotiation above all to the company level where the exchange between more wages in the face of greater productivity can take place. Boccia was clear about the direction of progress but then added a cautionary note on the times, stating that now it is not possible to interfere with the contractual renewals of some categories that are still open. Minister Calenda politely replied that it was necessary to resolve the issue quickly.
“Hurry up”, he exhorted the social partners, evoking a successful headline from Il Mattino and Il Sole 24 Ore. Interesting notes are dedicated to industrial policy, taxation, banks and of course the renewal of the public administration. For each of these chapters new accents can be seen. There is no request for aid or public subsidies. We want a taxman who is more attentive to stimulating investments, banks capable of valuing the company as a whole and not just the cold numbers of the balance sheets. Above all, industrial policy must offer a stable framework for the medium-long term in order to create and consolidate positive expectations. Confindustria rejects the suggestions of those who think of a stronger expansion of public spending, well aware that it is not with debt that we can return to higher and more stable levels of growth. On the other hand, it will be necessary to urge the Government to continue the reform policy and above all to accelerate their implementation, making them become concrete and innovative behaviors of the entire bureaucratic machine.
Faced with the serious risks of political involution that Europe and Italy are running, Confindustria does not hold back. To overcome the fears of a part of the population, the answer does not lie in shutting oneself up at home as proposed by the new nationalism. "Closing the borders is like blocking an artery: it would cause a heart attack," Boccia stressed. Instead we have the opportunity to face the problems of our economy and our society head on. We have to convince ourselves that it's worth it and that we can win the challenge.
