Gaspari al Mezzogiorno: un ottimo ministro in anni difficili
Wednesday July 20th, 2011 | 04:43 pm | Amarcord, Persone, Politica italiana
Riprendo a scrivere sul mio sito personale, che ho trascurato in questi mesi per dedicarmi a Numerus, il blog su Corriere.it, perché voglio dire la mia su Remo Gaspari, il politico democristiano scomparso ieri a Gissi, il suo paese natale. Non è stato solo in grande protettore del suo Abruzzo, un tipico potente della Dc dorotea che dominava la Prima repubblica. E’ stato anche, per come l’ho conosciuto, un ottimo ministro. Nell’aprile del 1988, quando divenne ministro del Mezzogiorno, dirigevo Capitale Sud, un settimanale del gruppo Class dedicato appunto all’economia del Mezzogiorno. Ero molto prevenuto e dovetti ricredermi. Era un periodo di grandi speranze e di tanti soldi per il cosiddetto “intervento straordinario”. Due leggi, la legge 44 e la 64 del 1986, avevano annunciato una pioggia di miliardi sul Sud. La 44 per finanziare l’imprenditorialità giovanile, la 64 per una serie di cosiddette “azioni organiche” nelle quali c’era dentro di tutto, dall’informatizzazione della Calabria alle più disparate opere pubbliche.
Supercommissari per le tante spazzature del Sud
Tuesday January 8th, 2008 | 10:46 pm | Uncategorized
The scandal of garbage collecting in Naples shows the failure of the policies of the last decades in the South of Italy, where local politicians have received money and powers without being able to develop their territories and to defend the legal system. The South does not need only a “Supercommissioner” with special authority for the garbage of Naples: political powers should be given back to the central government in all activities infiltrated by the organized crime. But putting under tutorship the Regions of the South, while leaving autonomy to the other Regions, who have demonstrated that they can stand on their own, is impossible without a very strong political coalition.
2008: un po’ d’ottimismo, nonostante il degrado
Monday December 31st, 2007 | 12:17 pm | Uncategorized
A few thoughts at the end of the year after some optimistic (and surprising, for some people) articles by il Sole 24 Ore. Italy is condemned to an inevitable decay? No. It’s true that the country is losing ground (even if politicians often deny it), but I am with the people who think that we can still invert the trend. To do it we need some faith in our possibilities, a change of the political system, but also the willingness to modify some of our personal attitudes versus the public good.
Womenomics, le donne al centro dell’economia
Sunday December 23rd, 2007 | 09:49 am | Uncategorized
“Women are now the most powerful engine of global growth”, says The Economist. Womenomics are getting more and more important, and Italy is among the European countries where the female employment rate is lower. I had the occasion to work on this topic with a group who has been in charge of preparing the official “Nota Aggiuntiva” on “women, innovation and development”. This document is a specific annex which Minister Emma Bonino this year attached to the Lisbona Report presented to the European Commission, in order to underline the need of a “faster pace” in fostering the quantity and quality of women’s employment. After this interesting experience I wrote an essay in Italian and English for East, Europe and Asia Strategies.
Mi chiamo Speroni, mio nonno era mugnaio sull’Olona, però…
Sunday September 30th, 2007 | 07:41 am | Amarcord, Europa, Nord e Sud
About the risk of secession in Italy, my family name, the hurried way in which people read articles on the screen…
Se il Belgio si divide l’Italia esplode
Sunday September 23rd, 2007 | 02:05 pm | Uncategorized
Italy like Belgium? In a recent comment on the Belgian crisis, The Economist wrote: “Sometimes it is right for a country to recognize that a job is done”. States are changing all over Europe, and secessions are not necessarily traumatic as they used to be. See Czechoslovakia. In Italy the North and the South are more and more apart, so a “divorce” becomes possible, even if it’s frightening for most of the population.
La domanda di Libero Grassi
Saturday September 8th, 2007 | 04:44 pm | Amarcord, Economia italiana, Media, Nord e Sud, Persone, Politica italiana
In a public debate in Palermo, Libero Grassi, the entrepreneur who was later killed by Mafia, asked me if my journalism was more similar to playing tennis or ping pong. His question could now be put to his colleagues, who proclaim that the ones who pay the “pizzo” will be expelled from Confindustria.
I rivoluzionari del senso civico
Saturday August 25th, 2007 | 04:28 pm | Uncategorized
“Senso civico” means being concerned about the public good. It’s an attitude which in Italy is lacking, and this explains the weakness of our political system, in the left as in the right wing. From Michele Salvati to Beppe Grillo, columnists and bloggers discuss this point, without being able to find a solution. May be we should start froom the network of people who show “senso civico” in their everyday life. As “Una Città”, a not so well known monthly magazine published in Romagna, points out.
Da dove andiamo a incominciare?
Monday June 18th, 2007 | 10:30 am | Uncategorized
Seen from Italy, all the traditional political instruments look crumbling. The United Nations cannot be reformed and cannot cope with the worst crises, the European Union is paralyzed after its enlargement and should start anew from a smaller group of nations, in this country the unity between a North and a South that are more and more different is difficult to maintain by a government who is loosing its credibility. Something should be done at all levels, to promote effective political institutions. But where do we start from? I see only one answer: from the network of people of good will who have the opportunity of talking to each other through the Net e who form a global public opinion.
Three Italies: a revolution in family incomes
Thursday February 2nd, 2006 | 06:49 pm | Uncategorized
A new survey on the household budgets by the Bank of Italy gives food for thought on the evolution of the Italian economy. We were used to think that the Italian regions follow two different patterns: the North, with European standards of living, and the South, the Mezzogiorno, trying to catch up but always far behind.
The Italian central bank (Banca d’Italia), who has a very efficient research center, released the results of its biennial survey, with some surprising results. Read more…
