Thinking about the North and putting industry at the centre: what the mood and the hopes of the “GDP party” tell us
“North North”, writes Marco Belpoliti in a book just published by Einaudi, to talk about a world that is not just a geographical place (“… it evades our every attempt to reach it… the North that the compass now shows me is relative, it is not absolute”), but above all has a cultural, economic and social dimension. In Italy, it has a specific connotation, both geological, between the Alps and the valleys that descend from them, and naturalistic (certain animals, certain trees, even if the “palm line” identified by Leonardo Sciascia, with botanical and, above all, anthropological criteria, reaches it). And it is located between the industrious Brianza, the open city of Milan, Pavia and Bergamo and the plain crossed by the course of the Po and its tributaries, including “that great piece of Emilia, land of communists, motor cars, music, beautiful games, rich cuisine and classy Italians” so well described by Edmondo Berselli (in a book published by Mondadori in 2004, to be read and reread).
A North that lives on productive economy and culture. And it is still marked by the traces of great intellectuals such as Carlo Emilio Gadda, Alberto Arbasino and Mario Dondero, Ugo Mulas, Enzo Mari, Arnaldo Pomodoro and Gabriele Basilico, the artists of Bar Jamaica who were fascinated by Giancarlo Fusco in the 1960s, and two Sicilian “great Lombards”, Ferdinando Scianna and Vincenzo Consolo, at Vittorini, amidst melancholy, civic lessons and design skills. A North that is both very European and Mediterranean.
Here, devoting time to the delightful pages of Belpoliti (and also to the ironic and far-sighted pages of Berselli, who died too soon and too painfully) also means finding original ways to interpret the tensions, passions and hopes that characterise the most economically dynamic part of Italy and which, despite everything, are the cornerstones of any process of sustainable economic and social development of the entire country system. Because the North is, among other things, ingenuity, industry, work, change, the quest for well-being, the desire for innovation, but also the capacity for social integration, the civic spirit, the positive myth of progress, sophisticated cultural, humanistic and scientific research. A sense of history and an inclination for innovation in the broadest sense of the word. A taste for beauty and a passion for new technology. The North of Leonardo da Vinci, Leon Battista Alberti and Galileo. Of Giulio Natta and the Futurists. Reformist mayors, entrepreneurs and managers (Olivetti, Pirelli, Agnelli, Falck, Mattei, Borghi, Luraghi, etc.), who wrote the finest pages of the “civilisation of machines”, in which our competitiveness and therefore our economic and social development are still rooted today.
Beyond remembrance, in such difficult and controversial times, there is also a sense of unease that needs to be addressed. The unease of the so-called “GDP party”, to which Dario Di Vico has once again drawn attention (Il Foglio, 8 March). We fear the impact of the tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump and discreetly invite European politicians to do the right maths, from our point of view, not only on the trade balance, but above all on the monetary and financial balance, reminding Washington of the American advantages of having the dollar as the main trading currency, for attracting European capital to Wall Street and for the positive impact of all digital transactions.
There are also complaints here in the north about the ongoing industrial crisis, which is closely linked to the decline of the German economy and the price European countries are paying for geopolitical tensions fuelled by the US, China and Russia. And there is a need for a real forward-looking EU industrial policy, consisting of a single market, investment in innovation, lower energy costs and smart cuts in regulatory and bureaucratic excesses. EU security and defence policy must also be seen in this context: common investments, a common strategy. The outdated and negative policy of forced unanimity and the blackmail of individual countries’ “vetoes” must be overcome quickly and effectively.
The “GDP party” and above all Confindustria (Confederation of Italian Industry) chaired by Emanuele Orsini have given a wide berth to Giorgia Meloni’s government. Now, in addition to an EU response on tariffs, they are calling for adequate recovery measures to go beyond declarations of good intentions: a three-year investment plan and tax measures, for example. They are alarmed by what “La Stampa” calls “Failure 5.0” (11 March), namely the difficulty of obtaining incentives for the green and digital transition and the transfer of funds earmarked for other purposes. They are insisting on corporate tax relief for those who invest. And they are pushing for measures to help the sectors most in difficulty, from the car industry (without deluding themselves that they have the answers from the transition to war production) to clothing.
Those who know the industrial areas well and share the mood, projects and concerns of women and men entrepreneurs know that in recent months, alongside the fears of a prolonged crisis, there has been a certain desire for recovery and revival, a strong European pride and therefore a growing demand for public authorities (European, national, but also the most sensitive local authorities, starting with municipalities such as Milan, Bergamo and Brescia and the Lombardy Region) to put industrial issues at the centre of attention. Not to demand protection or corporate and nationalist safeguards. But not to dissipate the legacy of competitiveness and productivity that most northern companies have built up over the years, thanks to investment and attention to innovation, quality and sustainability. Also in the interest of the whole country.
With industry at the centre, we hear from Trento’s industrialists during the celebrations for the eightieth anniversary of Confindustria Trentino. Strengthen industrial supply chains, argues Assolombarda. Giving companies the tools to increase productivity and competitiveness is a priority in Turin, which after the car crisis is looking to strengthen new sectors, starting with aerospace.
In Emilia-Romagna and the north-east, the “Made in Italy” label is once again in the spotlight, with less emphasis on picturesque craftsmanship and “typical” products. As for the most advanced technologies, the focus is on an original mix of industrial production capacity and high-tech services for companies. Mechatronics and mechanics. Robotics. Chemicals, rubber and pharmaceuticals. Space Economy and shipbuilding. With all the connected technologies.
A productive choice. But also a strong idea of Italy’s presence in the world. Knowing full well that those who do not have a competitive industry do not count on the world’s balance sheet. And therefore are not the agents of their own future.
The industrial horizon fits into the context of Europe’s defence. And democracy. Think not just of a square with EU flags, but of a factory, a market, a financial terminal, a university classroom or the ITS research institute. The history of a North where, around the factory, ideas and achievements about citizenship, participation, work and welfare have matured. And where the reforms are mature enough to continue to combine freedom and enterprise, the rights of citizens and the needs of a balanced society. Ideas at the heart of democratic Europe. And that is our civil life. And hopefully our future.
In a network of relationships, in a system of connections. And infrastructure. Mediterranean and European, in fact. Highways, ports, airports, logistics centres, knowledge and training centres. And Leonardo, the great supercomputing centre that, from Bologna, can act as a reference for all the country’s major industrialisation sectors, providing the means to use the data necessary for artificial intelligence.
We might call this North North. Or some other name. But we know that Europe’s strength lies in North-South relations as much as in East-West relations. In new maps of political and trade relations, in which Europe, in dialogue, must be able to assert its primacy. Economic, but also and above all cultural and civil.
“North North”, writes Marco Belpoliti in a book just published by Einaudi, to talk about a world that is not just a geographical place (“… it evades our every attempt to reach it… the North that the compass now shows me is relative, it is not absolute”), but above all has a cultural, economic and social dimension. In Italy, it has a specific connotation, both geological, between the Alps and the valleys that descend from them, and naturalistic (certain animals, certain trees, even if the “palm line” identified by Leonardo Sciascia, with botanical and, above all, anthropological criteria, reaches it). And it is located between the industrious Brianza, the open city of Milan, Pavia and Bergamo and the plain crossed by the course of the Po and its tributaries, including “that great piece of Emilia, land of communists, motor cars, music, beautiful games, rich cuisine and classy Italians” so well described by Edmondo Berselli (in a book published by Mondadori in 2004, to be read and reread).
A North that lives on productive economy and culture. And it is still marked by the traces of great intellectuals such as Carlo Emilio Gadda, Alberto Arbasino and Mario Dondero, Ugo Mulas, Enzo Mari, Arnaldo Pomodoro and Gabriele Basilico, the artists of Bar Jamaica who were fascinated by Giancarlo Fusco in the 1960s, and two Sicilian “great Lombards”, Ferdinando Scianna and Vincenzo Consolo, at Vittorini, amidst melancholy, civic lessons and design skills. A North that is both very European and Mediterranean.
Here, devoting time to the delightful pages of Belpoliti (and also to the ironic and far-sighted pages of Berselli, who died too soon and too painfully) also means finding original ways to interpret the tensions, passions and hopes that characterise the most economically dynamic part of Italy and which, despite everything, are the cornerstones of any process of sustainable economic and social development of the entire country system. Because the North is, among other things, ingenuity, industry, work, change, the quest for well-being, the desire for innovation, but also the capacity for social integration, the civic spirit, the positive myth of progress, sophisticated cultural, humanistic and scientific research. A sense of history and an inclination for innovation in the broadest sense of the word. A taste for beauty and a passion for new technology. The North of Leonardo da Vinci, Leon Battista Alberti and Galileo. Of Giulio Natta and the Futurists. Reformist mayors, entrepreneurs and managers (Olivetti, Pirelli, Agnelli, Falck, Mattei, Borghi, Luraghi, etc.), who wrote the finest pages of the “civilisation of machines”, in which our competitiveness and therefore our economic and social development are still rooted today.
Beyond remembrance, in such difficult and controversial times, there is also a sense of unease that needs to be addressed. The unease of the so-called “GDP party”, to which Dario Di Vico has once again drawn attention (Il Foglio, 8 March). We fear the impact of the tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump and discreetly invite European politicians to do the right maths, from our point of view, not only on the trade balance, but above all on the monetary and financial balance, reminding Washington of the American advantages of having the dollar as the main trading currency, for attracting European capital to Wall Street and for the positive impact of all digital transactions.
There are also complaints here in the north about the ongoing industrial crisis, which is closely linked to the decline of the German economy and the price European countries are paying for geopolitical tensions fuelled by the US, China and Russia. And there is a need for a real forward-looking EU industrial policy, consisting of a single market, investment in innovation, lower energy costs and smart cuts in regulatory and bureaucratic excesses. EU security and defence policy must also be seen in this context: common investments, a common strategy. The outdated and negative policy of forced unanimity and the blackmail of individual countries’ “vetoes” must be overcome quickly and effectively.
The “GDP party” and above all Confindustria (Confederation of Italian Industry) chaired by Emanuele Orsini have given a wide berth to Giorgia Meloni’s government. Now, in addition to an EU response on tariffs, they are calling for adequate recovery measures to go beyond declarations of good intentions: a three-year investment plan and tax measures, for example. They are alarmed by what “La Stampa” calls “Failure 5.0” (11 March), namely the difficulty of obtaining incentives for the green and digital transition and the transfer of funds earmarked for other purposes. They are insisting on corporate tax relief for those who invest. And they are pushing for measures to help the sectors most in difficulty, from the car industry (without deluding themselves that they have the answers from the transition to war production) to clothing.
Those who know the industrial areas well and share the mood, projects and concerns of women and men entrepreneurs know that in recent months, alongside the fears of a prolonged crisis, there has been a certain desire for recovery and revival, a strong European pride and therefore a growing demand for public authorities (European, national, but also the most sensitive local authorities, starting with municipalities such as Milan, Bergamo and Brescia and the Lombardy Region) to put industrial issues at the centre of attention. Not to demand protection or corporate and nationalist safeguards. But not to dissipate the legacy of competitiveness and productivity that most northern companies have built up over the years, thanks to investment and attention to innovation, quality and sustainability. Also in the interest of the whole country.
With industry at the centre, we hear from Trento’s industrialists during the celebrations for the eightieth anniversary of Confindustria Trentino. Strengthen industrial supply chains, argues Assolombarda. Giving companies the tools to increase productivity and competitiveness is a priority in Turin, which after the car crisis is looking to strengthen new sectors, starting with aerospace.
In Emilia-Romagna and the north-east, the “Made in Italy” label is once again in the spotlight, with less emphasis on picturesque craftsmanship and “typical” products. As for the most advanced technologies, the focus is on an original mix of industrial production capacity and high-tech services for companies. Mechatronics and mechanics. Robotics. Chemicals, rubber and pharmaceuticals. Space Economy and shipbuilding. With all the connected technologies.
A productive choice. But also a strong idea of Italy’s presence in the world. Knowing full well that those who do not have a competitive industry do not count on the world’s balance sheet. And therefore are not the agents of their own future.
The industrial horizon fits into the context of Europe’s defence. And democracy. Think not just of a square with EU flags, but of a factory, a market, a financial terminal, a university classroom or the ITS research institute. The history of a North where, around the factory, ideas and achievements about citizenship, participation, work and welfare have matured. And where the reforms are mature enough to continue to combine freedom and enterprise, the rights of citizens and the needs of a balanced society. Ideas at the heart of democratic Europe. And that is our civil life. And hopefully our future.
In a network of relationships, in a system of connections. And infrastructure. Mediterranean and European, in fact. Highways, ports, airports, logistics centres, knowledge and training centres. And Leonardo, the great supercomputing centre that, from Bologna, can act as a reference for all the country’s major industrialisation sectors, providing the means to use the data necessary for artificial intelligence.
We might call this North North. Or some other name. But we know that Europe’s strength lies in North-South relations as much as in East-West relations. In new maps of political and trade relations, in which Europe, in dialogue, must be able to assert its primacy. Economic, but also and above all cultural and civil.