The ‘recall’ by Livolsi: “After the European elections, the government will once again face the harsh reality”

The reflection of Ubaldo Livolsi, professor of Corporate Finance and founder of Livolsi & Partners S.p.A. begins with this reminder.

ROME – “The discussions, especially within the majority, in view of the European elections which will be held on Saturday and Sunday (8 and 9 June), are proof that Italian politics does not look, as it should, at long-term objectives, but to contingency: from the extension, desired by the MEF minister Giancarlo Giorgetti, from four to ten of the years in which to spread the deductions of the Superbonus 110, to the income meter proposed by the deputy minister Maurizio Leo, then withdrawn by the prime minister Giorgia Meloni, to the ‘Salva- home of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini. The Government, whatever the outcome of the European vote, will have to return to harsh reality”.

The reflection of Ubaldo Livolsi, professor of Corporate Finance and founder of Livolsi & Partners S.p.A., in the new appointment of its column with the Dire agency, edited by Angelica Bianco.

“After the exit from Covid – he explains – the GDP grew by 6% in 2021 and 4% in 2022 due to the so-called rebound effect, which ended in 2023. The current year must deal with reduced numbers : GDP will increase by 1% for the Government, by 0.9% for the European Commission and by 0.7% for the IMF. The Superbonus 110 effect is over (defined by Prime Minister Meloni as ‘the biggest scam in history to the detriment of the State’), the + sign of our country’s GDP will be largely due to the billions of the Pnrr.

The latter, I want to say clearly, can only be good for Italy precisely because it is intended for investments aimed at carrying out structural reforms and not for the benefit of categories representing particular interests. Look, for example, at the positive effects that have already been had in reducing justice times.

A good immediate intervention could be action in an area not directly involved in the Pnrr, but functional and systemic to the objectives that the Meloni Government has set itself: wages. It is clear that the growth of the economy depends largely on family consumption: if workers do not earn enough to spend, the economy stops.

The wage situation in Italy is unsustainable. The level of wages in Italian companies is 10% lower than that of France and 20% lower than that of Germany.”

“We must ignore a recurring misunderstanding – adds Livolsi – Wages do not depend only on labor taxation – those in France and Germany are similar to the Italian one – but on the availability of high profile jobs, those linked to solutions such as intelligence artificial, robotics, augmented reality, technological devices. For this reason it is essential to underline the importance of the so-called Steam subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics).

It is also necessary to act even more, as I have long argued in the columns of this newspaper, on the great wealth represented by the over 5,200 billion euros of savings held by Italians, which should be used to create development. It is not just a question of financial education, although decisive and decisive, which should indeed be strengthened by including it in school curricula, it is essential to make available on the one hand taxation tools, such as incentives for listing, and on the other hand products of investments that link savings to businesses – and in this sense the Capital Bill represents a significant turning point.

Banks, insurance companies, provident funds and pension funds must also assume the responsibility, which should enter into the risk capital of companies and large projects. In the United Kingdom, a legislative measure was recently passed that obliges pension funds to invest 5% of their portfolio in the risk capital of British companies.”

“Also thanks to this series of interventions – together with other more specific ones – the ‘dimensional’ delay of Italian companies will be reduced: which, to go back to what I argued above, means greater demand for those quality jobs which are synonymous with higher wages high.”