{"id":85832,"date":"2021-12-21T10:26:51","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T09:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fondazionepirelli.org\/uncategorized\/riforme-da-completare-e-limiti-da-superare-dopo-il-riconoscimento-di-the-economist\/"},"modified":"2022-10-07T13:25:55","modified_gmt":"2022-10-07T12:25:55","slug":"accomplishing-reforms-and-overcoming-limitations-in-the-wake-of-the-economists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondazionepirelli.org\/en\/corporate-culture\/blog\/accomplishing-reforms-and-overcoming-limitations-in-the-wake-of-the-economists\/","title":{"rendered":"Accomplishing reforms and overcoming limitations in the wake of The Economist’s commendation of Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Little Italy. Pizza, mafia and mandolin. Spaghetti-eaters. Chatterboxes. The sick nation of Europe. For the time being, we can bin all stereotypes, as Italy has been named \u201ccountry of the year<\/strong>\u201d by The Economist<\/em>, the weekly magazine that has never been sparing in its blistering criticism and cutting irony \u2013 especially last year, in 2020, when it termed Italy \u201ca country in decline, useless on the international scene, with a stagnant economy and a ruling class that simply squanders ideas and resources.\u201d A critical tradition perpetuated, in previous years, through scathing covers: such as the one featuring Berlusconi, labelling him \u201cUnfit to lead Italy\u201d; the one with Berlusconi and Beppe Grillo, proclaiming \u201cSend in the clowns\u201d; and the one capturing the overall precariousness of Italy \u2013 a bus with the tricolour flag perched on the verge of a cliff, entitled \u201cThe Italia job\u201d, the source of \u201cEurope\u2019s next crisis\u201d.<\/p>\n

But now the tune has changed<\/strong> and Italy is distinguished with \u201cTriumphal honours\u201d, hailed as the \u201cmost-improved country of 2021\u201d. All thanks to Mario Draghi<\/strong> who, appointed Prime Minister by the Italian Parliament, has \u201cchanged the country\u201d. Indeed, with Draghi, Italy \u201cacquired a competent, internationally respected prime minister\u201d and this political turnaround, sought for and backed by President Sergio Mattarella<\/strong>, meant that \u201ca large majority of Italian politicians buried differences to support a programme of profound reforms<\/strong> aimed at obtaining the funds to which Italy is entitled according to the European Recovery plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here’s the deal: according to The Economist<\/em>, which by and large reflects the most authoritative and widespread opinions of the international business community \u2013 not just in English-speaking but, more generally, in western countries \u2013 Italy is the nation that this year, pandemic and recession notwithstanding, has changed the most and for the better.<\/p>\n

The favourable views<\/strong> expressed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel<\/strong> in her last days in office spring to mind, too: in the fight against COVID-19 and its variants, do like Italy \u2013 and follow its example, too, to relaunch the economy (looking at its GDP data, Italy is \u201cbouncing back\u201d much better than Germany and France).<\/p>\n

A nice Christmas present by The Economist<\/em>, then. In Italian political and entrepreneurial quarters, the feeling of pride is unmistakable. Credit where credit’s due, indeed. So, let’s put aside that particular tendency, which sadly affects large parts of the public opinion, to speak ill of our own country, to be hypercritical, to heighten the darker sides of politics and society (though real enough). And let’s try, instead, to build a more reputable image, based on the many things that are going well (innovative companies; social solidarity; generous initiatives by the \u201cthird sector\u201d; banking foundations \u2013 like the Fondazione Cariplo and the Compagnia di San Paolo \u2013 that, in the words of ACRI president Francesco Profumo, \u201ccreate alliances to benefit the collective interest\u201d; quality cultural initiatives; the widespread reports about a robust \u201cpositive social capital\u201d).<\/p>\n

Italy \u2013 as many scholars and observers of economy and society have been saying for a long time \u2013 deserves a better narrative<\/strong>. Recognition by The Economist <\/em>certainly helps, just as global sports victories do, or the Nobel Prize for Physics to Giorgio Parisi, or, further, the acknowledgement of Luciano Floridi, Oxford professor, as \u201cthe most influential philosopher in the world\u201d.<\/p>\n

It’s all very rewarding. These are successes on which we can build to keep on improving, being careful, however, not to allow self-satisfaction to make us too complacent.<\/p>\n

In fact, The Economist<\/em> also reminds us that Italy’s stability is a precarious one, that \u201cweek governance\u201d is a threat that may come back our way, and that Draghi leaving Palazzo Chigi for the Quirinale could weaken the ongoing recovery<\/p>\n

Moreover, even so, Italy still retains many of its historical features steeped into political, economic and social fragility<\/strong>. And Sabino Cassese is right when, on the Corriere della Sera <\/em>(18 December), he talks about \u201cRecovery\u201d, but \u201cwith no illusions\u201d concerning the \u201cmany weak points\u201d affecting the quality of Italian politics, the limitations of public administration, the burden of public debt, the production crises \u2013 especially in the public sectors and those segments not influenced by market trends \u2013; the shortcomings in education (exacerbated by poor teaching, due to recruitment processes that disregard merits and skills); the issues concerning environment and territory. And so on, without forgetting the long catalogue of reforms and innovations that have been lacking over the years, the monumental burden of corporations and patronage, and widespread criminality (from massive tax evasion to the pervasiveness of organised crime).<\/p>\n

Though, to be fair, some reforms are ongoing. And the Next Generation Recovery Plan, as well as allocating huge financial resources, has also forced the Italian Government and Parliament to acknowledge the needs and the urgency of introducing further reforms, necessary to ensure that those sums are well spent. The arrival of Draghi at Palazzo Chigi has, thankfully, accelerated a process that may have otherwise ground to a halt.<\/p>\n

Yet, there’s still a lot to accomplish. And, knowing this, as well as being a source of pride, reading The Economist<\/em> could perhaps inspire us to keep on moving forward \u2013 it could be an incentive for politicians and social stakeholders to take charge and responsibility for building a better country<\/strong>, in all earnest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Little Italy. Pizza, mafia and mandolin. Spaghetti-eaters. Chatterboxes. The sick nation of Europe. For the time being, we can bin all stereotypes, as Italy has been named \u201ccountry of the year\u201d by The Economist, the weekly magazine that has never been sparing in its blistering criticism and cutting irony \u2013 especially last year, in 2020, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":85823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-corporate-culture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAccomplishing reforms and overcoming limitations in the wake of The Economist's commendation of Italy - Fondazione Pirelli<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fondazionepirelli.org\/en\/corporate-culture\/blog\/accomplishing-reforms-and-overcoming-limitations-in-the-wake-of-the-economists\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Accomplishing reforms and overcoming limitations in the wake of The Economist's commendation of Italy - Fondazione Pirelli\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Little Italy. Pizza, mafia and mandolin. Spaghetti-eaters. Chatterboxes. The sick nation of Europe. 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