Sorpresona: the turbo-liberal Giavazzi now also praises Cdp and Webuild
Cdp, Webuild and more: how the economist Giavazzi, turbo-liberal columnist of the Corriere della Sera, changes his opinion now that he is economic advisor to the Prime Minister, Mario Draghi.
Welcome to the field of pragmatism, dear Professor Giavazzi.
Yes, because since the Bocconian economist Francesco Giavazzi, deus ex machina of turbo-liberal intellectuality in Italy, thanks above all to the stage of the front page of Corriere della Sera , which has been trodden for decades, has stopped playing the role of the teacher to whisper (but how many whispers go well beyond the sketchy land registry reform ?) to the Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, who wanted him as an economic adviser, almost all the acts of the government do not reflect the ideas, proposals and theses of the columnist Giavazzi.
Or, perhaps, it is simply easier to scribble an editorial – almost never citing the sources of the numbers and theses – than to help write a law decree. Easier, perhaps, to make an intervention in public.
Here is what the turbo-liberist (or former turbo-liberist) Giavazzi said today.
Whether the PNRR "will be successful or not in infrastructures, depends on the collaboration that will take place between companies and institutions": Webuild in the sector will have to manage works for over 50% of the total budget and "whether the plan will be successful or not depends on collaboration between Webuild and the government ”, especially the Ministry of Economy headed by Daniele Franco.
This is what Francesco Giavazzi, economic adviser to the President of the Council of Ministers said; the same Francesco Giavazzi who saw the moves of the meddling state in the economy as smoke in the eyes and who has beaten governments of every color (or almost) for decades.
Webuild is the national construction champion (ah, how many times has Giavazzi beaten first on the Corsera against the very idea of national champion…) heir to the Salini group which has absorbed Astaldi among other things. Webuild shares the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti group (controlled by the Ministry of Economy) through Cdp Equity with 16.67% .
"The public-private relationship is fundamental for the performance of these projects: today for Italy knowing how to use the funds of the NRP means deciding the imminent future of the country and for the results to be positive it is essential to start a valid relationship between the public and private. The role of Webuild is important in being able to implement a complex plan, which also brings with it a series of commitments on the reforms the country needs ", added Giavazzi in connection with the event organized by the construction group for the launch of the 'Alberto Giovannini Award', named after the economist who died in 2019 and former president of Webuild, and hosted in the Corriere della Sera headquarters in Milan.
Just in the Corriere della Sera , about ten years ago, Giavazzi with Alberto Alesina indicated to the government of the time ten concrete intervention proposals to restart the labor market and the economy: "According to Giavazzi and Alesina, Italy's priorities they are not infrastructures – summarized Il Foglio – but rather a series of reforms at no cost on the labor market, pensions, taxation and justice ”.
Now, therefore, it is also the infrastructures.
But we know that professors are always right and never admit to having changed their minds. Because at most it is actual reality that changes.
Soloni is born, on the other hand.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/sorpresona-il-turbo-liberista-giavazzi-ora-elogia-pure-cdp-e-webuild/ on Mon, 08 Nov 2021 13:55:19 +0000.