A judicial «earthquake» hits the election campaign

by Isabella Bufacchi
and Mariolina Sesto
The judicial investigations into Finmeccanica, Saipem (Eni) and Montepaschi are having quite an influence on the election campaign. Following the case of the "red bank" Montepaschi, which has cast a negative light on the center-left, the story of Finmeccanica blew up with the arrest of the CEO Giuseppe Orsi, a manager with a Catholic base and close to Lega Nord. Last week, prosecutors investigated Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni for alleged bribes paid by a company of the group, Saipem. Allegations are being rejected by top managers and the Treasury issued a note last night on Finmeccanica arguing that back in 2012 no irregularities or anomalies emerged.
Politicians however cannot ignore this judicial earthquake.
Finmeccanica, a company in the field of defense, security and aerospace, has about 70 thousand employees, a presence in over 50 countries and is 30.2% owned by the Italian State through the Treasury. It is for this reason, and the risk of losing jobs, that investigations present a serious embarrassment for the government.
Immediately the leader of Partito Democratico Pier Luigi Bersani accused Mario Monti: «It is a serious situation in which the government perhaps could have acted earlier». Much harder was the reaction of Sel leader Nichi Vendola, who spoke of «Monti's heavy responsibility». Monti defended himself: «Magistrates will do their job, there is a problem with the governance of Finmeccanica, we will solve it as soon as possible». The leader of the PDL, Silvio Berlusconi, attacked the judges: «The risk of intervention by the magistrates and the fact that they put constraints on CEOs is suicidal for our economy».
Scaroni last week received notice of legal action regarding a story that relates to Saipem, an engineering and construction company, 43% owned by Eni. Eni, the largest Italian energy company, is in turn owned 4.3% directly and 25.76% indirectly by the Treasury. It operates in 85 countries with 79 thousand employees. Even in this case, the investigation calls into question the role of the government in large corporations.
Political leaders are giving solutions. Regarding Finmeccanica, Bersani and Monti share a similar strategy: they point the finger at the legislation regarding foreign bribery and ask to review corporate governance. Berlusconi, instead, seems to want to maintain the current status quo: constraints placed on Chief Executives are suicidal for the economy, he says.
#insightelections2013
(Traduzione di James Tierney)
© RIPRODUZIONE RISERVATA