The phone call from John Elkann (in the photo) to the President of the Chamber Lorenzo Fontana was not enough. His refusal to appear at a hearing in Parliament to talk about the present and future of Stellantis received unanimous condemnation from the parties. Only from Maurizio Landini’s CGIL does no direct criticism come of the president of the group.
The most restrained, albeit decisive, is the Democratic Party, with secretary Elly Schelin who nevertheless defined the behavior of the president of the automotive group as “to be stigmatised”, also given that “only four days after his hearing, the CEO Tavares started talking on the radio about not ruling out layoffs.” With the microphones off, in the corridors of the Transatlantic, the Democrats’ tones are harsher than the official ones. There is talk of a “total lack of respect” in light of “the billions received” over the years by the State. “Ingratitude” is the summary given by some parliamentarians who, however, maintain more calm positions in their official positions. Many refer to the billions in dividends paid by Stellantis in recent years, 16 billion from 2021 to 2024, compared to a much less prosperous reality in the Italian factories, including layoffs and incentives for workers to leave voluntarily. Get paid to leave. It should also be remembered that entire former Fiat factories in the South, the Melfi and Termini Imerese hubs, were built with public resources. It is difficult to give a precise account of how much the group has received and how much it has given over the years. The Corriere cites a survey by Davide Bubbico, professor of economic sociology at the University of Salerno, according to which between 1990 and 2019, also including Magneti Marelli, Iveco and Pwt, the total contributions would amount to around 4 billion euros, compared to just over 10 billion in declared investments. Net of partial data, we still come to the conclusion that 40% of Fiat investments would have been financed by the Italian State. Carlo Calenda, Action, who has been waging a battle for some time that he himself defines as «in splendid solitude», was the harshest towards Stellantis: «Elkann must learn that he may be very rich, but this does not exempt him from respecting the institutions, because those institutions, against my opinion, gave him 6.3 billion in guarantees during Covid” to support the sector “and he paid himself a dividend with part of that money. So now he must come and answer for the promises he made.” Calenda had already attacked the secretary of the CGIL Landini and the Democratic Party for the union’s “silence” in the face of the haemorrhage of jobs and cuts in investments. Evoking the role of the newspaper Repubblica: «There was a Repubblica effect on the Italian left after the purchase of the Elkann, because Schlein and the Italian union no longer talk about Stellantis. Landini has softened the tone in an incredible way.” The union leader denies it and claims his battles. For the Democratic Party, with Walter Verini, «Elkann’s gesture towards Parliament is to be condemned, I hope that everything can be done to make him change his mind».
For the dem Antonio Misiani “he was wrong to refuse the invitation, but the government also made a serious mistake”. According to Angelo Bonelli, of Avs, «Elkann’s refusal is an act of arrogance and offense to a democratic institution that represents Italians».
