(ANSA) - Cinisello Balsamo - Italy's current economic crisis is its own fault, according to Luca Cordeo di Montezemolo, the head of Italy's association of industrial employers Confindustria, chairman of Fiat, and president of Ferrari and Maserati.
Speaking at the annual assembly of the Italian Association of Machine Tool Manufacturers (Ucimu) here outside Milan, Montezemolo said that "our crisis is homemade because Italy is standing still while the economies of other countries are expanding."
"Some economies, like Japan's, are experiencing strong growth after a long period of crisis. Italy, on the other hand, is at a standstill and the best we can hope for is stagnation, whereas the truth is that the economy is shrinking," the Confindustria chief said.
"This situation is intrinsically Italian because we are far worse off than the other European countries which also adopted the euro and must face competition from China," he added.
Montezemolo placed the blame for this on the shoulders of Italy's political class which he said was more concerned with party politics.
"We need politicians who put the economy at the center of debate. The economy today is a national emergency but political discussion is just focused politics," Montezemolo said.
He was apparently refering to the squabbling in both the center right and center left over the make-up of their respective coalitions, whether they should be a single party or a looser alliance, and the political 'king of the mountain' battle over who should be leader.
"No one is talking about the Italian economy or international problems, whereas we businessmen must keep a close eye on what happens in the world because we live in a global market and international crises can affect our economy."
