Cesare Romiti was for twenty-five years as head of Fiat at the center of all the events of Italian capitalismand an capable manager, with a well-deserved reputation as a tough guy, but above all a man of valor, with a high sense of duty and a firm conviction that he is also serving the country's more general interests together with his company's interests. Reading the book of interviews collected by Paolo Madron is an exciting experience for those who have lived, as an observer or sometimes as a co-protagonist, certain events, but above all it is very instructive for young people who are now entering the job market not only and not so much to learn about our history, but above all to try to understand from the experience of an exceptional personality like Romiti, with what attitude one must face life, overcome difficulties and put the successes bear fruit.
As he rightly states Ferruccio de Bortoli in its preface this interview is not a real history book. Even if Romiti often assumes the most detached and neutral attitude possible, it is inevitable that in certain passages his personal memories prevail rather than the objective reconstruction of the facts. In general, Romiti tends to defend the way of doing business in those years and above all the role of Cuccia and Mediobanca, which certainly had great merits in making Italy a great industrial country. But this does not sufficiently explain the reasons why starting from second half of the 70s we have witnessed a progressive decline of our businesses, Italy leaving crucial sectors such as chemistry, electronics, etc. Nor is the catastrophic outcome that is adequately highlighted the crisis had in '92 not only with tangentopoli but with the devaluation of the lira and the austerity measures of the Amato government.
But the book does not pretend to remake the history of the Italian economy but to highlight it through the story of some episodes and the way of working of some of the protagonists of the time, the personalities, the likes and dislikes that determined the outcome of certain disputes and indirectly the fate of the country. We are dealing more with a gallery of characters and cultures than with a cold and detached examination of the facts. Romiti had an almost filial devotion to Enrico Cuccia. And certainly the big boss of Mediobanca was a man of great stature, morally upright, unique enough to make use of even disreputable people in order to pursue the aim of keeping up what little existed of large Italian private industry. And for many years this goal has been achieved. Towards the end of his earthly adventure, however, the method often prevailed over the objective, so much so that once, when Romiti had already left Fiat, the lawyer. During a private meeting, Agnelli harshly criticized Mediobanca, which in his opinion has now become only a center of power that did not act on the basis of business considerations, but to perpetuate his influence on the market.
With De Benedetti, Romiti was particularly benevolent in his replies, both in recounting his 100 days in Fiat and afterwards when the two always found themselves on opposite sides both in business and in Confindustria. Two people made to not understand each other. Carlo, an unscrupulous financier, tended to impersonate the entrepreneur even of the market, leaving Fiat the brand of a large company assisted by the State or at least colliding with the politicians. In fact, no entrepreneur has been more political than De Benedetti, and he has had great advantages from politics, suffice it to recall the SME or the concession of frequencies for cell phones which made it possible to save Olivetti from bankruptcy.
Strange then that Romiti does not mention, if not in passing, Cantarella, who for almost a decade was his right-hand man in Fiat Auto and then in the holding. It was in that decade that Fiat's woes worsened, then worsened by the adventurous policy of Fresco and Cantarella himself who bought the house in America and launched into massive investments in Argentina and India which never yielded anything.
Ma with Cantarella the breach became incurable when Fiat attempted to take over Montedison, precious pearl of the Mediobanca Empire, and even made no secret of wanting Fondiaria as well. Romiti obviously defended Mediobanca and in particular the dolphin of Cuccia, Maranghi (a much more rigid man than Cuccia himself) and that head-on confrontation with Turin was probably at the origin of the open opposition to the election of Carlo Callieri to the presidency of Confindustria. Romiti argues in the book that in his opinion Callieri, towards whom he had great esteem, was however an expression of the "professionals of Confindustria" while, as we saw later, the real professionals are those who emerged with the D' Amato presidency when a political concept of associationism took hold which divided the writings between winners and losers and which favored the inauguration of terrorist and then in the Giunta of men linked to the confederal presidency, a bit like the currents of the parties. The professionals of Confindustria are not the Merlonis or the other great entrepreneurs who supported Callieri, but those who make a seat in the confederal system a complement to their own circle of relationships and business.
The book is full of characters and episodes and can be read with ease and pleasure. There is one last episode which concerns me directly and which I cannot fail to mention: the relative one to my appointment as director of Il Sole 24 Ore. I am grateful to Romiti for having fought for my candidacy against prejudices, then as now, very strong against anyone classified as a Fiat man. In a country where many wear a jacket, it's really strange that you only fight against those who have passed from Fiat. At the time I had over 27 years of work behind me, of which only four were spent at Fiat, 14 at Il Sole and other newspapers, and seven at Confindustria. I think I am, following a precise statement by Romiti himself, a person who has never loved to put labels on himself, and therefore it is not clear why there must always be this prejudice towards those who have worked professionally at Fiat. And this also concerns the fact that the transition from the Espresso Group or from Pirelli cannot be considered elegant, while only for those coming from Fiat should suspicions about their professionalism be valid. Moreover, as Romiti himself recalls, the results of my direction and the full agreement with Tronchetti, then president of the publishing company, demonstrate how unfounded certain prejudices are.
But being against Fiat continues to be a national sport for politicians, trade unionists and even journalists. Having Fiat as an enemy, writing a book against the Agnellis, grants an easy autonomy license that allows you to open up many career spaces. Romiti fought hard against these prejudices. His experience is now delivered to young people who will be able to appreciate not only individual actions or decisions (some of which may even be considered wrong) but the man's moral uprightness, the firmness of character and the great humanity of a boss, surly , but never authoritarian, who has always tried to base his leadership role not on authoritarianism but on example, as recited a maxim prominently displayed on the wall next to his desk in Corso Marconi.
