“I am encouraged by what we saw over the weekend” with the resolution of the political deadlock in Italy. Thus the number one of Fiat and Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne, commented on the inauguration of the new Letta government two months after the elections last February.
“We are starting to see a return of a willingness in Europe” to rely less on what has been the key word up to now: “Austerity. We tried the medicine,” continued the manager, “which is killing the base.”
For Marchionne it is necessary to find a new approach, in addition to that of austerity, to facilitate economic activity, so as to "restart the engine" of the economy.
According to Marchionne, "Europe finds itself having to make two difficult choices": one regards austerity, which must become "a second priority". The other is the acknowledgment of the fact that “the euro at these levels is probably the least competitive instrument that Europe has to offer”.
The manager referred here to the effects due, for example, to the broad monetary stimulus plan adopted by the Japanese Central Bank, which resulted in a strengthening of the single currency against the yen, making European exports more expensive not only in the eyes of Japanese consumers but also international ones.
Also in the wake of the fact that the ECB has a different mandate than other central institutions such as the Federal Reserve, "we are so out of phase with the rest of economic activity in the world", added Marchionne, "that competent leaders must carefully rethink the question”, because otherwise “the recovery process is at risk”.
