Often, it is the need that solves the problems. The consideration comes naturally after the news that the council of the Municipality of Turin, by Chiara Appendino, approved, on 7 September, the resolution relating to the "extraordinary revision plan of municipal shareholdings", a plan which, in essence, provides for the sale, among other things in a short time, of quotas and shares of a flurry of companies, including Iren and Centrale del Latte d'Italia, both listed on the Stock Exchange, Sagat (manages the Caselle airport), Banca Popolare Etica, the two Finpiemonte and the two university incubators in Turin (the Municipality has 115 participations).
By the end of this month, the resolution will have to pass to the City Council called to give the green light, necessary and appropriate. The need arises not only from compliance with the Madia Law but also from budget problems, also highlighted by the Court of Auditors. As for the opportunity, it is undeniable that, normally, companies are better managed by private subjects than by public ones, understood, the latter, as politicians or politicized.
The interests of political administrators do not necessarily coincide with those of the companies or entities over which they have influence, for example already with the appointments and then with the suggestions on managerial choices. By their nature, politicians - not statesmen, a category that seems to have disappeared in Italy - have consensus as their main objective, which is obtained, mainly and more quickly, with power, exercised with financial resources (preferably public) rather than with the designations, assignments of tasks and consultancies, pressures, recommendations, interventions that are not always appropriate.
Reducing public holdings is good, for the economy and for the community, for the reasons indicated above and supported by the facts. The result is positive in any case, even if it would be better to pursue it and obtain it out of conviction, not out of necessity and perhaps immediate. Forced sales, moreover in a short time, yield less. The buyer can take advantage of the situation.
In any case, the initiative of the mayor Chiara Appendino seems appreciable and worthy of widespread imitation, also in view of the indebtedness of the local administrations (for the state one it is better to draw a veil of pity) and of what you said after the approval of the resolution of his council. In fact, you argued that the provision should be viewed "from the point of view of the correct use of public resources, the containment of expenditure and the improvement of company performance and the services offered to citizens and businesses".
By the way, it should also be remembered that in private companies the directors must pursue, by law, the exclusive interest of the company, therefore of all the stakeholders and not of just one part, even if it is made up of the majority shareholder, who does not he can override the managers, even if appointed by himself.
Finally, in this regard, theory and practice suggest that the governments of local authorities (not to mention the national one) devote themselves to the tasks of direction and control, not to management ones. The separation of roles is a principle of democracy, but also of economic effectiveness.
Photo: northwest
