The dual mood of Italy: melancholic yet energetic, thanks to its booming industry
An Italy that’s both melancholic and animated, full of energy, capable of confident leaps forward as concerning the economy. Indeed, though marked by discomfort and deterioration – starting with its demographic decline, with too many hard-pressed elderly and too few industrious youths – in 2020-2021 Italy attained a 10.9% GDP increase that’s truly deserving of distinction, this being the largest growth rate achieved by a country in the G7 group, which includes the major players in the global economy. A phenomenon unseen since the economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s, and so astonishing that it’s been called a “miracle”. What to say, then, when attempting to describe Italy? Its image is an ambiguous, ambivalent, controversial one, so complex that it can’t just be overshadowed by those gloomy tones inspired by uncertainty, fear, worries about energy bills, inflation, recession, a challenging employment market and low wages – all those dark clouds that are causing economists to fear that the country might have entered “the era of the Great Stagflation” (the result of financial inflation and stagnation combined, a swamp that bogs down the economy while prices keep on rising and thus exacerbates widespread poverty, as discussed by Nouriel Roubini in IlSole24Ore of 9 December.
Is Italy in trouble, then? Of course, assuming we’re considering the real meaning of the term “crisis”, which signifies both danger and opportunity. In short, and in spite of everything, Italy wants to regain confidence in a better future, especially with regard to the new generations.
Let’s take a look first at its melancholic side then, a key term in the 56th CENSIS report on the social condition of Italy, which has long been considered the best way to gauge the moods and trends of the Italian people (while the media talk of “backwash”, “nostalgia” or even of “a hard life”, with social observers and researchers rehashing those notions popularised by the great writer Luciano Bianciardi).
It’s all doom and gloom for employees and pensioners (increasingly vexed at having to bear the fiscal burden that funds public and welfare services for the whole country, tax dodgers included), as they’re the key representatives of an impoverished and struggling middle class, the backbone of positive social capital and, it goes without saying, of democracy itself.
According to CENSIS, following the Covid pandemic, the war and the environmental crisis, 89.7% of the Italian people feels “sad”; 59% fears that the war in Ukraine will lead to a nuclear attack; 58% feels tired due to the constant use of digital devices; and 85% of the female population believes that violence against women has increased. Still, we don’t seem to be “on the brink of a nervous breakdown” yet, and that “resentment” featuring in past CENSIS reports is no longer predominant.
Rather, what we’re witnessing is a “silent withdrawal” from social bonds and values (as demonstrated by the fact that an Italian citizen out of two no longer goes to the polls), as well as disillusionment towards the myths of populist demagogy and the beautiful lives flaunted by mass media: 83% is unwilling to “make the sacrifices required to emulate influencers” (may they finally fade away…), 81% is averse to pay the price necessary “to follow fashion”, and 63.5% that required “to look younger”. Less appearance and more substance, seems to say the vast majority of the Italian people, especially in times of crises – less talk and more responsible and earnest political, cultural and economic decisions. Are we perhaps, thanks to this crisis, truly on the verge of an extraordinary shift in awareness pertaining the quality of life, work, the future? We can only hope.
Melancholy, after all, doesn’t mean depression or despair, but rather a malaise that can be overcome, as well articulated (La Stampa, 3 December), by lawyer Malinconico (melancholic by name and by nature), the fictional character created by the insightful and brilliant writer Diego De Silva, and also the popular hero of novels and a TV series: “Gloom, as all who come equipped with it are aware, is compatible with hope.”
Let’s now have a look at the data pertaining hope then, starting with that 10.9% growth in GDP achieved during the two years following the Covid pandemic (and considering the increase recorded in the third quarter of 2022, even if the last quarter were badly affected by soaring prices and showed a decrease of up to -1.5%, the two-year period would still result in a positive growth of 10.4%).
Hence, this is not just an economic “rebound” following the crash of 2020, the year of COVID-19 and lockdown, but a real growth that’s strengthening the foundations of the Italian economy. In 2021, the GDP showed a growth of 6.7%, mostly generated by the manufacturing and export industries, while 2022 was positively affected by the performance of the services (starting with tourism) and building sectors.
“Payback for the Italian system: an innovative and digital industry 4.0, short and productive supply chains, product diversification: these are the reasons for its soaring exports. In the past six or seven years, the Italian economy was no longer struggling as it used to up to 2015,” explains Marco Fortis, professor of Industrial Economy at the Università Cattolica of Milan and director of the Edison Foundation (Il Foglio, 5 December). He goes on to describe how entrepreneurs, after the Great Crisis of 2008, succeeded in taking advantage of the fiscal stimulus introduced by Italy’s ‘Piano Industria 4.0’ (strongly driven by the Renzi and Letta governments, as well as the then Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda) by being clever and proactive, investing in machinery, the digital transition, process and product innovations, exports and quality, in order to consolidate productivity and competitiveness and thus boost the Italian growth.
Basically, the Italian industry acted as a driving force for development and also stimulated all related services, logistics, research, finance and so on, therefore upholding the country’s manufacturing leadership in Europe and in the world.
Other studies show similar results: the Corriere della Sera celebrates the “champions of growth” acclaimed during the Città Impresa (City Enterprise) festivals by Italy Post, while the Controvento Report by Nomisma (Affari&Finanza section of la Repubblica, 12 December) focuses on the 5,198 best Italian manufacturing companies and terms them “GDP factories”. Further, “The Italian industry possesses skills, creativity and history”, states Alberto Vacchi, whose company IMA (cutting-edge mechatronics) is amongst the best Italian multinationals.
Amidst this global trade chaos, in this complex reshoring era (production is back at the heart of industrial Europe) and the environmental and digital twin transition, Italian enterprises thrive, get stronger, represent an extraordinary social capital that guarantees wealth, well-being, employment, and tools that perpetuate innovation and growth.
The Fortis surveys undertaken for the Edison Foundation, also show how a good government is key. The Draghi government featured economic and political smarts, aimed to rebuild confidence in sustainable development, had an international authoritativeness that benefitted the entire country, and applied a long-term view concerning necessary transformations – all key drivers that strengthened the image of this “Italy deserving full marks”, as the above-mentioned 10.9% shows. Hence, it’s such a shame that the Draghi government was taken down so suddenly and foolishly, causing a crisis that badly affected Italian industry.
And now? As Fortis insists on saying, “It is strongly hoped that the new Meloni government won’t scatter the potential for growth and competitiveness the country has accrued.” Indeed.
An Italy that’s both melancholic and animated, full of energy, capable of confident leaps forward as concerning the economy. Indeed, though marked by discomfort and deterioration – starting with its demographic decline, with too many hard-pressed elderly and too few industrious youths – in 2020-2021 Italy attained a 10.9% GDP increase that’s truly deserving of distinction, this being the largest growth rate achieved by a country in the G7 group, which includes the major players in the global economy. A phenomenon unseen since the economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s, and so astonishing that it’s been called a “miracle”. What to say, then, when attempting to describe Italy? Its image is an ambiguous, ambivalent, controversial one, so complex that it can’t just be overshadowed by those gloomy tones inspired by uncertainty, fear, worries about energy bills, inflation, recession, a challenging employment market and low wages – all those dark clouds that are causing economists to fear that the country might have entered “the era of the Great Stagflation” (the result of financial inflation and stagnation combined, a swamp that bogs down the economy while prices keep on rising and thus exacerbates widespread poverty, as discussed by Nouriel Roubini in IlSole24Ore of 9 December.
Is Italy in trouble, then? Of course, assuming we’re considering the real meaning of the term “crisis”, which signifies both danger and opportunity. In short, and in spite of everything, Italy wants to regain confidence in a better future, especially with regard to the new generations.
Let’s take a look first at its melancholic side then, a key term in the 56th CENSIS report on the social condition of Italy, which has long been considered the best way to gauge the moods and trends of the Italian people (while the media talk of “backwash”, “nostalgia” or even of “a hard life”, with social observers and researchers rehashing those notions popularised by the great writer Luciano Bianciardi).
It’s all doom and gloom for employees and pensioners (increasingly vexed at having to bear the fiscal burden that funds public and welfare services for the whole country, tax dodgers included), as they’re the key representatives of an impoverished and struggling middle class, the backbone of positive social capital and, it goes without saying, of democracy itself.
According to CENSIS, following the Covid pandemic, the war and the environmental crisis, 89.7% of the Italian people feels “sad”; 59% fears that the war in Ukraine will lead to a nuclear attack; 58% feels tired due to the constant use of digital devices; and 85% of the female population believes that violence against women has increased. Still, we don’t seem to be “on the brink of a nervous breakdown” yet, and that “resentment” featuring in past CENSIS reports is no longer predominant.
Rather, what we’re witnessing is a “silent withdrawal” from social bonds and values (as demonstrated by the fact that an Italian citizen out of two no longer goes to the polls), as well as disillusionment towards the myths of populist demagogy and the beautiful lives flaunted by mass media: 83% is unwilling to “make the sacrifices required to emulate influencers” (may they finally fade away…), 81% is averse to pay the price necessary “to follow fashion”, and 63.5% that required “to look younger”. Less appearance and more substance, seems to say the vast majority of the Italian people, especially in times of crises – less talk and more responsible and earnest political, cultural and economic decisions. Are we perhaps, thanks to this crisis, truly on the verge of an extraordinary shift in awareness pertaining the quality of life, work, the future? We can only hope.
Melancholy, after all, doesn’t mean depression or despair, but rather a malaise that can be overcome, as well articulated (La Stampa, 3 December), by lawyer Malinconico (melancholic by name and by nature), the fictional character created by the insightful and brilliant writer Diego De Silva, and also the popular hero of novels and a TV series: “Gloom, as all who come equipped with it are aware, is compatible with hope.”
Let’s now have a look at the data pertaining hope then, starting with that 10.9% growth in GDP achieved during the two years following the Covid pandemic (and considering the increase recorded in the third quarter of 2022, even if the last quarter were badly affected by soaring prices and showed a decrease of up to -1.5%, the two-year period would still result in a positive growth of 10.4%).
Hence, this is not just an economic “rebound” following the crash of 2020, the year of COVID-19 and lockdown, but a real growth that’s strengthening the foundations of the Italian economy. In 2021, the GDP showed a growth of 6.7%, mostly generated by the manufacturing and export industries, while 2022 was positively affected by the performance of the services (starting with tourism) and building sectors.
“Payback for the Italian system: an innovative and digital industry 4.0, short and productive supply chains, product diversification: these are the reasons for its soaring exports. In the past six or seven years, the Italian economy was no longer struggling as it used to up to 2015,” explains Marco Fortis, professor of Industrial Economy at the Università Cattolica of Milan and director of the Edison Foundation (Il Foglio, 5 December). He goes on to describe how entrepreneurs, after the Great Crisis of 2008, succeeded in taking advantage of the fiscal stimulus introduced by Italy’s ‘Piano Industria 4.0’ (strongly driven by the Renzi and Letta governments, as well as the then Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda) by being clever and proactive, investing in machinery, the digital transition, process and product innovations, exports and quality, in order to consolidate productivity and competitiveness and thus boost the Italian growth.
Basically, the Italian industry acted as a driving force for development and also stimulated all related services, logistics, research, finance and so on, therefore upholding the country’s manufacturing leadership in Europe and in the world.
Other studies show similar results: the Corriere della Sera celebrates the “champions of growth” acclaimed during the Città Impresa (City Enterprise) festivals by Italy Post, while the Controvento Report by Nomisma (Affari&Finanza section of la Repubblica, 12 December) focuses on the 5,198 best Italian manufacturing companies and terms them “GDP factories”. Further, “The Italian industry possesses skills, creativity and history”, states Alberto Vacchi, whose company IMA (cutting-edge mechatronics) is amongst the best Italian multinationals.
Amidst this global trade chaos, in this complex reshoring era (production is back at the heart of industrial Europe) and the environmental and digital twin transition, Italian enterprises thrive, get stronger, represent an extraordinary social capital that guarantees wealth, well-being, employment, and tools that perpetuate innovation and growth.
The Fortis surveys undertaken for the Edison Foundation, also show how a good government is key. The Draghi government featured economic and political smarts, aimed to rebuild confidence in sustainable development, had an international authoritativeness that benefitted the entire country, and applied a long-term view concerning necessary transformations – all key drivers that strengthened the image of this “Italy deserving full marks”, as the above-mentioned 10.9% shows. Hence, it’s such a shame that the Draghi government was taken down so suddenly and foolishly, causing a crisis that badly affected Italian industry.
And now? As Fortis insists on saying, “It is strongly hoped that the new Meloni government won’t scatter the potential for growth and competitiveness the country has accrued.” Indeed.