Nine commitments for growth

4 – A strong move towards privatisation, starting with the Italian TV network Rai and public utility agencies currently owned or controlled by local authorities. Besides the direct advantages in terms of debt, inevitably leading to savings on interest costs, there would be a drastic reduction in the direct intervention of politics (and its inevitable logic of side-taking and advantage-seeking) in the production of goods and services.

5 – A plan for the deregulation of licences and operating hours for all business activities and services, including pharmacies, para-pharmacies and distribution networks, the deregulation of professions, the strengthening of the antitrust role, and the adoption of the principle by which no citizen or firm is obliged to present certifications already in the possession of public administrations.

6 – The definition of an effectively unbreakable national stability pact concerning the parameters of standard costs of health care.

7 – An increase in university fees. There is no reason why those who can afford it should not pay what they can towards the further education of their children. At the same time, deserving but less affluent students should be supported by a generous and selective system of study grants and /or loans (as already happens in numerous other countries).
This would lead to a definite improvement in university management, since funding would depend more markedly and more directly on what students pay. There should also be the abolition of the legal value of study diplomas, so that a diploma would no longer have the same value independently of the reputation of the university from which it was released.

8 – Transparency on the part of the public administration: a strong initiative with the adoption of a law for freedom of information (a "Freedom of Information Act", based on the best experiences of other countries). This would allow for the monitoring of public functionaries, making them more accountable for unnecessary delays and avoiding the shunting of cases from one office to another.

9 – A reduction in the costs of politics: immediate adjustment of the indemnity of parliamentarians and of the number of those elected to reflect the European average, abolition of the provinces and unification of the smaller municipalities, halving of the number of representatives on regional, town and area councils and a reduction in the number of members on the boards of directors of all companies controlled by local authorities. These measures could have a special significance in restoring credibility to the institutions.

We are well aware that the recipe for growth contains many ingredients and that this list is certainly not exhaustive. The companies themselves must see to their own governance, capitalisation, dimension and innovation, as witness the ever growing number of success stories. But the main ingredient is trust, and these measures would give new impetus to the desire for action that has never been lacking in Italian entrepreneurs and workers and that is the country's true capital.

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