The genetic defect of the “Sovereign Fund” wanted by the government

Today the Council of Ministers should discuss the bill on Made in Italy, proposed by the Minister of Enterprise Adolfo Urso, which among other things establishes a new (yet another) sovereign wealth fund to acquire minority stakes in “national companies with high potential or of national companies which, due to the systemic importance already achieved, can generate important positive externalities for the country and reduce the costs of coordination between the actors of the supply chains involved”. In truth, the endowment is limited: we are talking about one billion euros, to which more or less spontaneous private inflows could be added (for example from the social security funds of professionals). Therefore the fund will have to focus on a small number of interventions. Too few to make a difference? Perhaps. But it is more probable that, however scarce, there are still too many. It is true that Italian companies are often undercapitalised. But this problem hardly concerns “high-potential” companies which in theory would be the fund’s target. Above all, the entry of the state as a shareholder is always a complicated step in the life of a company, because the shareholders end up having a capricious, arrogant and cumbersome partner.