Interview
Emanuele Felice: Meloni and Italian decline, the failure of neoliberal Europe
The ordoliberal politics of the last 30 years have failed. ‘Berlin is growing even less than Italy. The country growing fastest today is Spain, where the Sánchez government has invested heavily in the green transition and introduced a progressive wealth tax.’
We spoke with Emanuele Felice, professor of Economic History at IULM University in Milan.
Prof. Felice, the annual ISTAT report has exposed the falsity of the Meloni government’s narrative about the economy. Does it also prove the failure of what you call, in your book Manifesto per un’altra economia e un’altra politica (“Manifesto for Another Economy and Another Politics” – ed. Feltrinelli), the “neoliberal economic model”?
Yes, and I would go even further. It also shows the failure of that model in Germany, where it was applied in its “ordoliberal” form: Berlin is growing even less than Italy. The country growing fastest today is Spain, where the Sánchez government has invested heavily in the green transition, introduced a progressive wealth tax that I also support and protected workers’ rights. Italy’s decline began 30 years ago, uncoincidentally at the same time that neoliberal policies were adapted to our context: precarious work, competition based on devaluing labor and education, impoverished public services, social and fiscal inequality. The dramatic outcome of these processes is shown, item by item, in the ISTAT report.
Employment, wages and labor productivity have risen less in Italy than in comparable countries. Why is that?
In Italy, productivity has been falling since the 1990s. The neoliberal narrative blamed workers, calling them “slackers”. That myth needs debunking, together with the myth that Italy never experienced neoliberalism. In reality, the responsibility lies with politics, and it is bipartisan. The decision was made to channel production into low-innovation sectors where productivity is low and wages are poor, deluding ourselves that we could compete with emerging economies that way. This export-driven model, which generates no innovation and doesn’t fuel domestic demand, is showing all its limitations, particularly nowadays.
Italy is among the countries hit hardest by climate disasters. ISTAT says the damage since 1980 amounts to €134 billion. Couldn’t the NRRP money have been used better for projects to protect the local territory?
Yes, it could have, but unfortunately the Recovery Plan was managed top-down. At first it marked a historical U-turn on investments, but its potential was scattered among bonuses, old projects funded indiscriminately and favors to companies close to the government, often those active in the fossil fuel sectors. All three governments that have managed the plan have their share of responsibility, but Meloni has made things worse, causing delays aimed at diverting even more money from the plan’s original aims towards corporate lobbies.
The government is blaming the Green Deal for the industrial crisis.
Its denial of the environmental issue is in line with Trumpism and with the worst of the right-wing forces worldwide, who see the ecological transition as a straitjacket instead of the path to well-being and prosperity. Sadly, this regressive stance is spreading into the EU Commission too.
Aren’t the Stability Pact and debt constraints tying the government’s hands?
Certainly, but the government accepted them without protest. That said, Italy’s debt is a serious structural problem, partly due to tax cuts that favored the wealthiest and unearned income. We need a tax reform that would redistribute resources to social services and public goods, changing the current system that benefits rentiers and penalizes workers.
Could the June 8–9 referendums create leverage for a change of course?
I believe so. The labor referendums would restore rights denied to workers and can boost productivity by encouraging businesses to invest in innovation and quality instead of pursuing the failed strategy of devaluing labor.
What about the citizenship referendum?
It is just as crucial. ISTAT says Italy is losing population because educated young people are leaving, while those who stay behind don’t have children as they see no future prospects. For years we have thrown money into baby bonuses, which is another wrongheaded policy: people have children when they see future opportunities. Integration with full rights benefits us all. Ancient Rome understood that fact, very much unlike fascist Italy, which was trapped in an illusory dream of grandeur.
Does the support for the referendums show an awareness of neoliberalism’s limits among the center-left?
The Five Star Movement and the AVS have long held more critical positions. The PD, by contrast, was born with the neoliberal idea that one should enact “reforms” to subordinate rights to economic power (whereas the exact opposite is true). I see positive change in the PD on this issue, thanks to the current leadership. But the battle is not yet won: power centers with ties to the failed approach of the past are still influential.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/emanuele-felice-meloni-e-il-declino-italiano-un-fallimento-delleconomia-neoliberale on 2025-05-22