2023-09-03 11:47:18
Largely absent from the mini-Davos of the elite of Italian industry on the shores of Lake Como, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has nevertheless been able to appease a large part of the local employers, but is struggling to convince international investors.
A clear majority (69%) of the big bosses gathered in Cernobbio for the economic forum The European House – Ambrosetti pass a positive judgment on the government, according to a poll carried out on Sunday by the organizers. 18.3% of them have a negative opinion.
Conversely, the very controversial tax on the superprofits of banks, announced at the beginning of August in the greatest confusion, aroused strong opposition, with 62.8% of negative opinions.
But for many business leaders, the tax was just an accident.
Apart from “this small slippage”, the “good news is that following Mario Draghi, we still have a government once more which enjoys strong credibility”, judge Andrea Costantini, executive vice-president of Agrati, manufacturer components for the automotive industry.
However, “Georgia Meloni is at a crossroads: either she persists in the path of her predecessor Mario Draghi and Margaret Thatcher, or she gives in to the temptation of a populist drift for short-term electoral calculations”, warns- he.
As the European elections approach in June 2024, the leader of the post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia party is outbidding her Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the League (far right), Matteo Salvini, to capture votes. .
– “Courageous choice” –
“They were afraid of being considered too close to the elites, so they invented this bank tax, it was a populist coup to show that they were close to the people”, analysis for AFP Francesco Galietti, founder of the Policy Sonar consulting firm.
In the midst of a debate on the ravages of the bank tax, Giorgia Meloni gave up participating in the forum, citing a busy schedule.
However, many bosses recognize him for having made “courageous choices” such as the abolition of the “citizenship income” intended for the poor, which, according to them, prevents them from recruiting staff.
And business continues. Toni Volpe, CEO of renewable energy group Renantis, believes the change in government “has had no negative impact” on his sector, although he believes Italy is lagging behind in wind turbines and should speed up their installation.
The right-wing and far-right coalition led by Ms. Meloni took over in October 2022 from Mario Draghi, who had thrown in the towel following being let go by three parties of his government of national unity, including the League.
“The Meloni government is political, not technical like Draghi’s. Giorgia Meloni has a great ability to understand business needs,” said Mr. Volpe.
– “Lack of competence” –
A distinguished guest of the Ambrosetti Forum, the Nobel Prize in economics Joseph Stiglitz, on the contrary, had very harsh words regarding Giorgia Meloni’s team.
“I think there is a problem of lack of competence,” he told Tg3 television news. Regardless of the political orientation, “there is a fear that the people at the helm are not very experienced and that the quality of the choices is not up to par”.
Scalded by the bank tax, foreign investors are also on their guard, closely scrutinizing the government’s next projects.
“With the exception of Giorgia Meloni who goes to great lengths and tries to be professional, the level of quality of government is very low,” said a representative of a European investment fund on condition of anonymity.
“We regret the Draghi government. The former president of the ECB enjoyed great international prestige and demonstrated a professionalism that this government certainly does not have,” he lamented.
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