Stefano Cuzzilla (Cida): “In this critical moment for the country, politics must show that it knows how to listen to public and private management”

Starting again from work with high added value, from inclusive economic and social policies, from a strong investment in education, research and development. Public and private management believe in an Italy that knows how to put merit and skills back at the centre. This is the path indicated by the president of Cida Stefano Cuzzilla, today in Rome in front of over a thousand managers, business executives and representatives of the institutions, aimed on the one hand at guaranteeing the implementation of the Pnrr and on the other at dealing with situations of absolute urgency regarding the war, pandemic, climate and energy crisis.

In addition to the president Stefano Cuzzilla, the annual assembly of Cida, the Confederation that represents almost one million managers between the public and private sectors, saw the presence of the vice president of the Senate of the Republic, Maurice Gasparriof the Minister for Public Administration, Paul Zangrilloof the Undersecretary for Economy and Finance, Federico Freniof the Undersecretary for Labor and Social Policies, Claudius Durigonof the founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio, Andrew Riccardi.

President Cuzzilla declared: «Enterprises and administrations need high skills to support development and drive innovation. The implementation of the Pnrr must be entrusted to managerial figures and methods». He then went on to say that this process must be implemented “not only to spend the resources we have well, but also to generate a multiplier effect on growth, to the benefit of the younger generations”. Cuzzilla also launched an appeal to the institutions: «We ask for more dialogue and a willingness to listen. The model of interlocution must change, not only in consideration of the million managers we represent, but for what we express».

Managers were among the few categories able to respond effectively to the contraction in employment in the pandemic period, with a growth rate of more than 5% in 2022 compared to the previous year. A demonstration of how responsibility and ability represent the key to driving the different economic sectors of the country, especially in extremely complex periods.

«Scientific method, primacy of competence, drive for innovation are the cornerstones of managerial thinking to guide development. It is important that the public and private sectors work in synergy – explained Cuzzilla -. They are two dimensions that must integrate better in order to overcome the scope of the crisis and find solutions to Italy’s ancient ills”.

Cida based his estimates on the data and the demographic trend speaks for itself: the number of newborns is insufficient to keep the system in balance. The population has fallen by over a million in just a few years, the over 65s are on the rise, the number of people of working age is decreasing. For Cida it is necessary to invest in welfare, in greater protection for working women, in a tax system that defends the intergenerational pact between active and retired people.

The climate crisis affects everyone. The absence of a strategic strategy on the climate in the same way as that which has been lacking in the energy sector is not permissible. Our business system is accelerating in terms of sustainability and the demand for managers with green skills is increasing by 5% every year. Therefore, technological innovation applied to the circular economy must win.

Believing in the supremacy of competence also means seriously dealing with work. We are the second country in Europe with the lowest percentage of employed young people (only 31.1%), we are in the penultimate place for female employment and we are first in the standings with over 3 million young people not included in training and education courses ( the so-called NEETs). In this too, the Pnrr is an important lever. According to the data processed by CIDA, the two missions that most promise to drive youth employment will focus on digitization with a +0.9% (Mission 1) and ecological transition, with a percentage of +0.8% (Mission 2).

The Confederation leaves its assembly proposing a radical change of past models. The priority for Cida is to invest in research and development, which in Italy is drastically low compared to the rest of the Eurozone: in 2020 our total expenditure was 1.53% of GDP against the European average of 2.32%. Meloni Cida asks the government to consider research as a single system, integrated between public and private, to allow technology transfer to companies and unlock the productivity index that hasn’t grown for a quarter of a century.

It is necessary to experiment with new technologies with a logic attentive to the use of raw materials. Energy prices are on the rise, in the third quarter the supply problems of raw materials affected around 60% of industrial companies.

Another key aspect is addressing the issue of tax reforms. Cida argues for the need to overcome the Fornero law, in line with what government parties like the League say, which has made it an identity battle, but an overall reform is needed that will bring order to the pension system without penalizing work. The first step is to separate pension expenditure from welfare expenditure; the second is to act severely to counter tax evasion; the third is to reduce the tax wedge on labour, with a provision that is not a facade, but stimulates the entry into the productive world above all of young people and women.

Finally, the issue of cooperation. «Cooperate today means working for peace and for a speedy resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. Cooperating means enhancing the negotiating tables, starting with the G20 underway in Bali. We need to be protagonists in Europe – underlines the President – ​​reaffirm our Atlanticism and exploit our geographical position towards the African and Asian continents, as a gateway to Europe”.