97 parliamentarians between politics and business. The absence of rules makes lobbies spread

Ours is the only country in the European Union, together with Hungary and Slovenia, that does not have clear legislation on conflicts of interest, corruption and relations between officials and bureaucrats

Having the information before others is what matters most. What is sought in the business world, and often at all costs, is to know in advance when a tender will be released, the criteria, and how the score will be assigned. This is demonstrated by the investigations of recent years which have lifted the veil on cliques almost always made up of politicians (or relatives), entrepreneurs and public officials. Investigations that always have one element in common: the revolving doors between politics and businesses and the “soft” doors in the ministries that manage billion-dollar tenders.

Ours is the only country in the European Union, together with Hungary and Slovenia, that does not have clear legislation regarding conflicts of interest, corruption and relationships between officials and bureaucrats (including family members) with the world of bearers interest. Apart from the law of 2004, which concerns conflicts of interest of ministers and undersecretaries (bland to say the least), there is nothing for parliamentarians. According to what the website www.repubblica.it writes, it is no coincidence that the latest report from Geco, the body of the Council of Europe which deals with the fight against corruption, which asks Italy for “the adoption of clear and effectively applicable rules regarding conflicts of interest of parliamentarians”, including family members.

According to the association Transparency Today I am 97 deputies and senators with private interests, that is, who have shareholdings in companies or roles on boards of directors. The highest number sits in the ranks of the Brothers of Italy: from Minister Daniela Santanché with her companies linked to Visibilia, to the undersecretaries Marcello Gemmato and Maurizio Leo, who have shareholdings in companies dealing with sectors that fall within their ministerial mandates, passing through the deputies Marco Osnato and Riccardo Zucconi, who have companies in the tourism sector, just to name a few. Next, in terms of number of deputies with “special interests”, is Forza Italia: here how can we not mention the president of Lazio Claudio Lotito or the group leader in the Senate Maurizio Gasparri, president of a cybersecurity company. Salvini's League came third, followed by the Democratic Party, the 5 Star Movement and Italia Viva e Azione.

Then there are the cases of the revolving doors of politicians who have worked for lobbies and large companies and who shuttle between these roles: the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto Before taking office he led the AIAD, the federation of Italian companies dealing with aerospace, defense and security; the former Forza Italia MP Annagrazia Calabria today works for the institutional relations of Webuild, the giant of Pietro Salini's group that is to build the Bridge over the Strait, here too just to give some examples. And many former high-ranking politicians work for consultancy firms or large business groups: from Angelino Alfano to former minister Roberto Cingolani. Everything is legal and clear.

But in our country there is also a world in between: that of politicians who remain attached to ministries through a consultancy. Republic counted 35 former senators and deputies now included in government staff with the role of consultant, from Maria Spena to Armando Siri to Marco Busettijust to name a few.

But it's not just politics that doesn't have clear rules with revolving doors to say the least. The four thousand employees of large consultancy companies also revolve around ministries and regions, where billion-dollar tenders are drawn up, starting with the so-called large “sisters” of the sector (Deloitte, Pwc, Ernst and young, Kpmg) who work for technical assistance: they basically deal with preparing tenders and guidelines to accelerate community spending, but their companies often also work for companies that those calls will then have to participate. And here too the information circulates in a whirlwind.

In short, it is not surprising that in the corridors of the ministries there is a great deal of coming and going, almost always unrecorded. Only the ministry of Economical progress keeps an agenda and a register of lobbyists or stakeholders who access it. Then no other ministry keeps records and agendas.

And in Parliament? In the absence of clear laws, there is a register of stakeholders in the Chamber: businesses, trade associations and companies lobbying must indicate the names of the contact deputies. In the latest reports available many large companies and important companies of lobbying they write that they have not had any contact with the deputies. What's the point if they can still see them outside Parliament and also have free access to ministries?

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