The coronavirus emergency is causing turmoil also in Enasarco, the welfare body for commercial agents supervised by the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which boasts 300,000 members and a movable and immovable asset portfolio worth 7 billion. Today, the Enasarco Foundation, established in 1938 as a social security institution and privatized in 1996 thanks to legislative decree 509/1994, also includes financial advisors.
What has heated up tempers within the body and prompted intervention from the two supervisory ministries is the decision of the board of directors, on March 26, to postpone the elections that were supposed to take place from April 17 to 30 and to extend the mandate of the leadership precisely because of the emergency and the consequent restrictions across the entire national territory.
THE RESOLUTIONS OF THE FOUNDATION’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The elections to renew the leadership of Enasarco were called in June 2019 and the electoral campaign, which was supposed to last 95 days, opened on January 13. Then the coronavirus chaos and lockdown led the board, by majority, to resolve to postpone the vote to constitute the assembly of delegates. This decision was officially reaffirmed the day after the approval of the Liquidity decree, on April 8, which in article 33 provides for public bodies and associative organizations – which during this period are called to renew their administrative and control bodies – the possibility to suspend electoral procedures and extend the mandate of the old bodies. The Enasarco Foundation board thus continued on the path of postponement and also decided that within ten days from the end of the emergency a new date would be set for the elections.
THE INTERVENTION OF THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR…
The postponement of the vote had already prompted a first intervention by the Ministry of Labour with a letter, signed by Director General Concetta Ferrari and addressed to the president, the board of directors, and the board of auditors of Enasarco, dated April 1. In the letter, the official noted that the vote would only take place electronically “by express provision of the body’s regulations” and therefore it was possible to overcome the “possible restrictions related to the epidemiological situation caused by Covid-19.” The failure to respect the minimum campaign period was defined as “non-existent” – since the electoral operations had been declared open on January 13 – and the decision taken in the March 26 meeting was deemed “legally unfounded.” The director general concluded by saying she was awaiting the outcome of the “already called elections to be held, as pre-established, from April 17 to 30, 2020.”
The second intervention by the ministry led by Nunzia Catalfo (M5S) is dated April 30, therefore after the official resolution of the Enasarco board. Signed by the chief of staff of the Ministry of Labour, Valeria Capone, the letter was sent to the same recipients as the first. It asks the Enasarco Foundation to “take, with due urgency, every useful initiative necessary to overcome the current stalemate imposed on the ongoing electoral procedure” and invites it to hold the elections “in the period from May 20 to June 3, 2020.”
… AND THAT OF THE MEF
The intervention of the Ministry of Economy and Finance was milder and apparently inattentive; its chief of staff, Luigi Carbone, with a letter dated April 24, replied to the cabinet office of the Ministry of Labour merely sharing its observations and remarks and also highlighting that article 73 of the Cura Italia decree “legitimizes the use of digital tools in such circumstances.” However, this is a completely different circumstance since the article in question does not intervene on electoral processes but only allows collegial meetings (such as boards of directors) to be held electronically, notes an insider following the matter.
THE QUESTION FROM SQUERI (FI) TO GUALTIERI
On May 4, during the hearing of Minister Gualtieri before the Finance Committee of the Chamber of Deputies on the Liquidity decree, Forza Italia deputy Luca Squeri asked Gualtieri a question precisely about the situation that arose in Enasarco and pointed out that, despite article 33 of the Liquidity decree providing the possibility to suspend ongoing electoral renewal procedures with simultaneous extension of the administrative and control bodies, strong urging to proceed with the vote came from the Ministry of Labour and the MEF. Squeri also called “unacceptable” the “clear contrast between the government’s position and that of the very offices themselves.”
The center-right parliamentarian also stressed how Confcommercio, Confindustria, Confcooperative, Cna, Federation of Commercial Agents, Cgil, Cisl, Uil, Ugl share the board of directors’ stance and have written to the government to communicate this. Squeri then asked Gualtieri to intervene in the matter so that the Liquidity decree “also finds effectiveness in the actions of the ministries.”
THE RESPONSE OF THE MINISTER OF ECONOMY
In a quick reply, the head of Via XX Settembre mentioned the position of his ministry which was to “request a review of the decision to postpone the elections” and “considering that the procedure had already been started, we are waiting to know the outcome of the review by the Enasarco board which I understand should be convened this week.”
THE INTERPELLATION BY THE FORZA ITALIA DEPUTY AND THE RESPONSE OF THE UNDERSECRETARY DI PIAZZA
Ten days later, Squeri submitted an interpellation to the Ministry of Labour retracing the story and asking whether he does not consider the administrative action of the chiefs of staff illegitimate and whether their conduct is not damaging to the declared autonomy of social security funds. The response came from Undersecretary Stanislao Di Piazza (M5S) who stated that the supervisory ministries did not engage in any “damaging conduct” but only “the exercise of their functions.” Di Piazza then recalled that the issue is under the attention of the Ministry of Labour “which will continue to monitor developments in the matter.”
THE OPINION OF THE TRADE UNIONS
Supporting the decision of the Enasarco Foundation are the six main national trade unions of commercial agents. Fnaarc, Cgil Filcams, Fisascat, Uiltucs, Ugl Terziario and Usarci wrote to the Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, the minister, and Minister Catalfo pointing out that the postponement of the vote “is an act of responsibility, even before being a necessary technical-administrative act” because due to government measures there have been no “essential activities of information, meeting and dialogue between voters and candidates, activities which are the indispensable prerequisite of any free electoral competition and the right to cast an informed and conscious vote.”
The trade unions recalled that those entitled to vote – among agents and principal companies – are almost 300,000, of whom 75,000 agents who, to access online voting, should have received a code by registered mail whose delivery could not be guaranteed under current conditions. “Almost all principal companies, entitled to elect one third of the Assembly, will be unable to cast their vote as long as the current lockdown situation continues – they explained -. A state founded on democratic principles cannot consider acceptable that there is a violation of the right both of the participants in the electoral competition to fully and freely carry out the typical activities of any electoral campaign, and of the voters to form their voting choices in a fully informed and conscious manner.”
WHO DOES NOT WANT THE POSTPONEMENT
According to what Start Magazine learned, pushing to hold the elections as soon as possible is Alfonsino Mei of the Fare Presto list, linked to the Anasf association (of which Mei is a councilor) representing promoters and financial advisors, who would aim for the presidency of Enasarco. Moreover, Anasf has postponed the national congress from June 29 to July 1, which was supposed to be held from May 13 to 15 “considering the extraordinary events following the spread of the Covid-19 virus.” Probably, however, financial advisors want to go to the vote because they are aware they could have undeniable advantages such as the fact that – although fewer in number than commercial agents – they operate in sectors more easily reachable and started the electoral campaign earlier than others.
A financial advisor, Mei is currently responsible for institutional clients at IW Bank but in the past was a candidate as a director at Carige by Raffaele Mincione, the Italian-London financier who with his corporate vehicle Pop12 came to hold 5.4% of Carige and tried to enter the board two years ago, when the credit institution was still in the hands of the Malacalza family. The name of Mincione is also linked to Enasarco for the investigation into suspicious financial operations that also involved the Vatican including the sale of the luxury building in Sloane Avenue, London. The financier is under investigation for criminal association aimed at corruption and fraud together with some Enasarco officials.
