The battle for the election of the president of Confindustria is about to come to an end. The National General Council will take place on April 4th, but before then there is another event not to be missed. Today Confindustria Udine, Brescia and Bergamo will meet. In these last 48 hours, eyes are in fact focused on how those who have not yet expressed their opinion or who had supported Antonio Gozzi, the third candidate, excluded from the race for the Confindustria seat because he would not have reached 20% of support for be a candidate. The final clash is therefore between Edoardo Garrone, president of the Sole24Ore publishing group and sponsored by Emma Marcegaglia, and Emanuele Orsini, outgoing vice president and former president of Federlegno. The abacus seems to be in favor of Orsini given that he would have on his side not only the public companies controlled by the Treasury but also the territorial Veneto East and that of the Upper Adriatic. Today's votes will therefore mark a further important point for one of the two candidates. However, the unknown is very high. Today's vote could in fact go towards Orsini, which would close the game prematurely. On the other hand, Garrone's candidacy was born from an anti-Gozzi perspective and was strongly supported by Marcegaglia who would not like to see his projects undermined especially now that a decisive phase is starting for the future of Ilva on which he would have several projects. In fact, we recall that in February the Marcegaglia Group announced its intention to pay some Ilva invoices in advance, in order to allow the company to have the necessary liquidity to support production.
In the face of these assessments, the usual power games, pressures and maneuvers that take place between the various members of the Confederation would remain, which up to now has done little to protect the interests of industrialists, without forgetting old issues such as the Montante case. The elections themselves to elect the president are marked by bureaucracy and lack of transparency. Let's start from the fact that not just anyone can apply. To do this you must present yourself with at least 20% of the members' approval and this very often has brought to the top people who had never led a company, or who used the presidency of Confindustria as a springboard to then obtain other positions . The key very often is therefore having the right knowledge, rather than solid preparation. A system which, however, continues to create discontent and divisions and which over time has weakened the Confederation itself; born under the name of the General Confederation of Italian Industry in 1919 and originally intended to protect the interests of industrial companies. The fact that in 2012 Sergio Marchionne, former Fiat CEO, wrote a letter to the then president of Confindustria, Emma Marcegaglia, communicating Fiat's exit from the association says a lot about how Confindustria was and still is perceived by those who really do industry.
