The incredible superficiality, not to say ignorance, with which it has been treated, discussed, examined and evaluated The theme of privatization of Italian ports, privatization envisaged in recent days by the Vice President of the Council of ministers, Antonio Tajani, is summarized today in a post of the President of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifani, on his profile Facebook.

The real epitome of this debate, Schifani's disception suggests that the Sicilian governor is not clear the topic on which he wanted to have his say, as well as not Others were equally clear that, like the President of the Sicilian Region, hold institutional positions of absolute national importance.

Yet with his preamble Schifani did not fail to To point out that the crucial question is well known to him: " last weeks in Italy - is the introduction of the post - are have been characterised by a debate on the future of ports, which constitute one of the most important infrastructure assets of our country. As president of the largest island of the Mediterranean, I believe that such an important issue should be faced with deep analytical skills and framed in a geopolitical context that transcends national borders, due to of the centrality that the port system plays in our economy'.

In addition, the president of the Sicilian Region assures that he has Absolutely clear terms of the matter, keeping in mind What has happened even beyond national borders where the "privatization of ports". 'If you look at Europe about privatization of strategic infrastructure - notes the informed Schifani - the Greek precedent, shows us that, the Troika's decision to cede ownership of the principal national port, Piraeus, to the Chinese of Cosco, as a counterpart to support, with onerous loans, the credibility crisis of the Greek sovereign debt, represented for Greece and for the Europe itself is a serious error of geopolitics".

Strengthened by this in-depth examination, Schifani expresses Frankly his conviction: "Honestly - he explains - I don't think anyone in Italy is going to give up ownership of the main ports to the market, with the risk, not remote, of find some other sovereign state, perhaps misaligned with respect to national strategies, in charge of maritime infrastructures of the country. If we add to this that Italy does not hold raw materials but imports 90% through ports, transforms them in Europe's second largest manufacturing industry, and exports them, Always through our ports, it is well understood that privatizing a port it would mean bringing individual private realities into the industrial chain of the country, with all the drifts of the case».

Schifani's documented intervention closes the door to the hypothesis of privatization of Italian ports launched by Antonio Tajani, whatever it is, a door that had already been Locked in the face of the deputy premier by none other than the premier, Giorgia Meloni, and the other deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, who for mouth of his deputy minister Edoardo Rixi had specified to agree with the President of the Council that 'the The issue of the privatization of ports is not on the agenda of the day'.

A "no" to Tajani's proposal that Schifani perhaps, given that Tajani is still secretary of Forza Italia, the party in which Schifani militates, intended to dilute by specifying that 'If the transfer of ownership of ports therefore appears A road that is not advisable from the point of view of protection of the public interest, however, remains open, the need to start a discussion on how to relaunch seaports Italian. Starting with the question of the privatization of legal form of port system authorities'.

"In my opinion - observes Schifani - a structure exclusively publicistic governance in ports slows down not only ordinary management but also choices and operations infrastructure investments. The Italian experience shows that incardinating public companies in the civil code improves the performance, as in the cases of Poste and Ferrovie Italiane, which have improved both the budgets and their strategic positioning on the market. Also for this reason the transformation of the authorities of port system in S.p.A, in my opinion, would allow ports of call national dockers to compete better on an international scale, overcoming a system of public rules that today holds back the development. Times change, and require institutional architectures Different. Strategic challenges are changing fast, and It is necessary to equip oneself for a profound transformation of the models of management of the country's infrastructure'.

Returning to the international events mentioned by Schifani, it should be pointed out to the president of the Sicilian Region that in Greece has not been awarded COSCO at all 'the ownership of the main national port, Piraeus', but that the Chinese group has been awarded shares in the capital of capital company Piraeus Port Authority, shares initially equal to 51% of the total and then rose in 2021 to 67% of the capital of the Piraeus Port Authority which manages the Porto Greco, a port of call of which it has no ownership at all and which, otherwise, it manages under a concession contract with the Greek State which, on the occasion of COSCO's entry into the capital of the PPA, has been updated to take into account the "national interests".

So that Schifani knows, and with him also the others Experts in "privatization of ports", now the transformation of the Italian Port System Authorities into Joint-stock company would not in any way preclude COSCO to acquire shares in some Italian AdSP. At least that's They need to know this.

Bruno Bellio