Two hard-nosed attacks in three days of the prime minister Giorgia Meloni to the Franco-Italian automotive group stellantis, born from the merger between Fiat and Psa, is not a frequent sight on the Italian political scene. Not that Fiat, since the days when the lawyer ruled Gianni Agnelli, it wasn't often in the eye of the storm but those were other times and Fiat, the truly hegemonic one that pushed the Lawyer to say that "what is good for Fiat is also good for Italy", was not the one of today . In truth it was not always true that what was good for Fiat was also good for Italy and even then the ownership and management of Fiat did not fail to make mistakes, even if intellectual honesty requires us to recognize not only that Fiat was the largest Italian company and employed a lot of people but, despite its enormous power, the Agnelli family was always very respectful of Italian democratic institutions. And intellectual honesty would also like, albeit belatedly, to recognize the revolution accomplished by Sergio Marchionne, the last great manager of Fiat who did not hesitate to burn ties with the past, refusing public subsidies for the Turin company. But today the point is not to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the Agnelli house but to understand why Meloni attacks Stellantis head-on.
Meloni accuses the Agnelli house of lack of patriotism but does not ask why so many Italian companies listed on the stock exchange have their registered office abroad
There are many criticisms but, in essence, the Agnelli house is accused of having sold out Fiat to the French, of allowing Stellantis to favor investments in France over those in Italy, of having betrayed Italy by moving the legal base to Holland . On the first points, recalling the investments made in Italy and the contribution that the export of Stellantis vehicles gives to the Italian trade balance, the CEO of Stellantis has already responded, Carlos Tavares, who in the summer had, curiously, had to defend himself from the accusations of the French Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, who reproached him for favoring Italy over France. Incidentally, yesterday Tavares cut 600 jobs in the French factory in Mulhouse. But the crucial point where the prime minister's anti-capitalism emerges is that Meloni, as she had already done with the extra tax on bank profits last summer, does not seem to understand a very simple logic that is at the basis of every multinational and that is that investments go where the market makes them most convenient. The Prime Minister, and more crudely the Minister of Made in Italy and Business, Adolfo Urso, complain that Stellantis does not produce enough in Italy and would like it to produce at least one million vehicles a year. A sacrosanct desire which, however, does not respond to the reply from the CEO of Stellantis, according to which if the incentives promised by the Government had arrived in time, the Mirafiori plant would have already produced more and the threshold of one million vehicles to be produced per year in Italy would be nearest.
Then there is the other aspect of Meloni's accusations against Stellantis, namely that of moving the legal and fiscal headquarters abroad. The prime minister should perhaps ask herself why not only Fiat but 12 other Italian companies, all listed on the stock exchange, have made the same choice: not because they don't love Italy but because Great Britain, like the Netherlands, has lower taxes , a more attractive capital market and corporate rules better suited to the needs of large companies.
All the failures of economic sovereignty
Instead of demonizing the Agnellis and those who take the corporate domicile abroad, the prime minister should ask herself why all this happens and why Italy - with taxation, public administration, corporate rules, justice, schools, infrastructures and crime that is found - it is not a country for businesses and above all it is not for large businesses which are increasingly fewer, unlike what happens in other European countries.
But this would imply saying goodbye to economic sovereignism and home-made populism and would require the critical and self-critical ability to understand how modern capitalism really works, which indeed needs to be seriously regulated but not through political invasions. Already in the summer, Meloni, by passively listening to Salvini and indulging in his sheepish demagogy against the banks, had given rise to the suspicion that hers was an anti-market culture; today the ramshackle attacks on Stellantis are unfortunately confirmation of this.
Dear Dr. Locatelli
Apart from some expressions that I find frankly unsuitable for a serious and respectful debate, the considerations expressed are totally acceptable. I am referring to the fact that companies, especially large and multinational ones, go where they find it convenient. And unfortunately Italy is often not the best place to invest. It is indicative, but also discouraging, to read that Stellantis did not invest because the incentives did not arrive. But would only public incentives be the means to have more investments?
I believe that giving public money to large private financial economic complexes is a losing proposition.
Therefore, in addition to improving all environmental conditions as mentioned in the article, I think that credit conditions for businesses of any size and history should be profoundly reviewed, supporting ideas and projects that are part of a large national development plan. rather than favoring only those with financial solidity or high level political relational ties.