Without national champions the industry flies abroad

Alas Marbella, so much nostalgia… Good times, when the Sister of Italy, away in the pearl of the Costa del Sol, erupted lapilli and lava from the stage neo-Francoist from Voxthundering his peremptory “enough with big financial capital!”, and the people of the comrade Santiago Abascal gave her a well-deserved standing ovation. It seems like a century ago, but instead it was only June 12, 2022. And they should really be written, the “Memoirs of a Sovereignty” who from the wild and irresponsible lands of the opposition peddled political opium to the people, only to then take it all back once he conquered Palazzo Chigi, draping himself cap in hand first with Elon Muskdigital and satellite turbo-capitalist of Trumpism-Leninism, and then with Larry Finkking of raiders and planetary dominus of the fund Blackrock 9 trillion dollars. And yet, given Meloni where Meloni is due, I also have to talk about the flaws of so-called Italian capitalism. The one who peels his hands to applaud it, but who leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to defending the mythical “national interest”.

The impoverishment of “Italian Company”

Far be it from me to make any chauvinistic suggestions: open societies and free markets are not negotiable principles. But if we think in terms of industrial capital, and also of human capital, we cannot fail to see the progressive impoverishment of what would once have been called “Italian company”. The Italian companies – including the few largest ones remaining – show an objective difficulty in “creating a system”. The last thought-provoking case concerns Brembowhich after four years of coexistence in the Pirelli shareholding has decided to sell its 5.58 percent, and to definitively exit the tire giant. Matteo Tiraboschi, president of Brembo, had said in the past that the investment in Pirelli it was part of a long-term perspective, and the shareholders’ agreement with Camfin envisaged the progressive sharing of “potential common areas of development and innovation”. Not only that: the application of golden power by the government, which had limited the powers of the first Chinese partner Sinochem and had induced the second Silk Road to exit from shareholding – seemed to have laid the foundations for closer integration, also in governance, between Pirelli and Brembo. None of this. I’m not even going to investigate who was more wrong, if so Tiraboschi or Tronchetti Provera. That’s not what matters. I go directly to the result of the breakup: the dream of a merger between the two champions of Made in Italy fades, precisely at the moment in which it would be most needed, given the crisis of the car and the automotive supply chain.

Here it is, the “nation building” that our capitalism often lacks. Also and above all in strategic sectors. We saw it firsthand in the other school case, Come onan automation company sold by Stellantis to the private equity fund One Equity Partners. Now, it is true that the robotics sector is suffering the bites of the great economic cold, with a 25.9% collapse in demand in 2024. But it is possible that for a jewel like Come on Aren’t there any good Italian manufacturing companies capable of opening their wallets with a credible, long-term industrial plan? Is it possible that the usual script already seen in the case of the sale of Iveco, passed to the Chinese in the deafening silence of the Italian bidders, should be repeated? Is it possible that for Comau too all that remains is to wait for the usual golden power, announced in August by the executive but apparently not yet activated?

Those who shop for Italian companies

Between 2014 and 2023, foreign acquisitions of Italian companies were good 2.948for a value of 203 billion. The lion’s share, as usual, they do China and Hong Kong, who have invested more than 160 billion with us. Everything from luxury shoes to Sergio Rossi at Galbanifrom Ichnusa beer to Lamborghini. We have definitively lost entire sectors, in which we were a European excellence. An example for all, the railway industry, which vanished with the passage of Ansaldo Breda to the Japanese and of Fiat Ferroviaria to the French. Foreign shopping continued in the first quarter of this year, with a further 84 brands changing hands. It’s true that Italian groups also buy companies across borders, from Campari to Ferrero, from Amplifon to Essilor-Luxottica. The latest acquisition concerns Interpump, which made purchases in Great Britain. But the balance is decidedly unfavorable to us. Again: no one regrets the autarky of Italy in the twenty years. But capitalism holds if it reinvests, not if it just makes money. The private sector has a social responsibility. The public is an institutional responsibility. I read that the pyrotechnic Adolfo Urso he goes butterfly hunting in Kenya, chasing a tricolor space center in Malindi. A “lysergic” project to say the least. Go back to Italy, minister: an industrial policy is urgently needed.