Emanuele Orsini and Alberto Marenghi
Confindustria, at the moment only Orsini and Marenghi would have a quorum
Two weeks (or a little more) after the inauguration of the wise men, the issue linked to the possible candidates to succeed Carlo Bonomi continues to take center stage in Confindustria. It is good to remember, in fact, that until early February no one will be able to speak publicly as an aspirant to the throne of Viale dell’Astronomia. So much so that last week the good men had to call the Confindustria members to order, reminding them that no candidature can be advanced in the press because Confindustria’s liturgy is clear and precise: first we go through the essays that evaluate that the suitor has all the cards in order and only then announces himself.
Having said all this, according to Affaritaliani.it, there are currently only two candidates who have the minimum quorum to submit their candidacy, that is, 10% of the 182 votes that make up the general assembly: in strict alphabetical order they are Alberto Marenghi and Emanuele Orsini. The other way to advance one’s candidacy is to obtain 10% of the assembly votes, but in that case it is a very complex process which requires bringing together the individual territorial ones to have them express a specific name.
There are three other names doing the rounds at the moment, again in strict alphabetical order: Giovanni Brugnoli, Enrico Carraro, Antonio Gozzi. Plus the “alleged” one from Edoardo Garrone, who has not yet exposed himself. According to Affari, the current vice-president of Confindustria BrugnoliAt the moment, it could only count the votes of its territory, i.e. Varese, which would not be sufficient to reach the quorum. So much so that rumors are starting to circulate that someone in Varese has started asking Brugnoli to take a step back. A scenario that is difficult to achieve because the Lombard entrepreneur has already held the role of vice president of Confindustria on two occasions and, by statute, he cannot hold any other positions in Viale dell’Astronomia other than that of president.
As regards Carraro, it is true that the Venetian entrepreneur – not least in an interview with the newspapers of the newly formed Nem, the local newspapers sold by Gedi to a consortium led by Enrico Marchi – has always spoken of a qualified candidacy to relaunch Confindustria, represented by a real entrepreneur who can count on a significant turnover. But rather than thinking about himself, it seems increasingly likely that Carraro is promoting a choice of this type: he would be a facilitator for a name capable of restoring Viale dell’Astronomia’s shine, not a candidate.
Then there is Antonio Gozzi, who expressed great appreciation for the possibility of running for the presidency of Confindustria. The current president of Federacciai, however, comes from a region which is, from the point of view of the Confindustria chessboard, a “dwarf” because it can count on only three votes. At the moment, beyond his area of origin – which however would eventually have to be shared with Garrone – Gozzi can certainly count on the vote of his biggest sponsor, Giuseppe Pasini from Brescia (and not from Leonessa) who has been supporting his candidacy for some time.
The owner of Duferco would therefore have given himself a time limit to evaluate his candidacy and forward it to the wise men: A Federacciai meeting will be held on Monday 15 January from which Gozzi wants to have more concrete answers. It seems, therefore, that the Ligurian entrepreneur is testing the waters with a round of phone calls to understand who and how he could support him in the race. However, there are two traits of Gozzi’s figure that are not convincing industrial.
The first would be his communicative “activism”. In fact, no later than Friday the 12th, you participated in a conference on Europe in Florence held by the Rosselli Foundation of Valdo Spini. And this despite the invitations of the honest Viri to be more cautious at this moment. There are many interviews he has given – not that this is a crime, of course – which have made industrialists think that Gozzi is overexposing himself. The second theme is his old-fashioned political militancy in the Socialist Party already at the time of Bettino Craxi. And, it seems, even today the family of the former Prime Minister is very active in supporting the figure of Gozzi. Which would annoy some members of the Association quite a bit.
Finally there is Edoardo Garrone, who has never expressed any type of desire to run, but it is clear that it was identified by the Confindustria parterre de roi who would see it as the right name for the relaunch of Viale dell’Astronomia. It therefore continues its journey under wraps even if, we reiterate, there is nothing official yet. The elite of entrepreneurship, which we have talked about many times on Affari, see the owner of Erg as the right person to start again, while he does not have great sympathy for Gozzi’s overly political candidacy.
The other “candidates” would be underdogs, because they would have neither the coat of arms nor the right size for Viale dell’Astronomia. What is certain is that Confindustria needs a change. If a head-to-head vote were held today, as we have said, it would be between Orsini and Marenghi. But the road is still very long, and surprises are around the corner. The indications of the majority shareholders of Lombardy will be decisive, whose 32 votes of the members of the general council can move the needle and historically have the most significant weight.
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