Good morning everyone.
My greetings and thanks go to the President of CONFAPI [Italian confederation of small and medium-sized private industry], Cristian Camisa, and I thank him for the invitation. I am sorry that I am unable to attend the Confederation’s 75th anniversary event in person, but I nevertheless wanted to send my contribution. I also wish to greet the Ministers, representatives of economic and production categories and institutional representatives taking part in today’s event and, of course, all attendees. 
Small enterprises are the widespread driver of our economy, our society and our culture. I would go further: the world you represent constitutes the identity, tradition and innovation of Italy’s productive fabric. You are what I like to define as “patriots of work” because, with your dreams, your ingenuity and your creativity, you contribute to making Italy the great nation it is. You and your co-workers are a fundamental part of our real economy, concretely representing the link that connects enterprise, work and Italy’s local areas. That link centres around entrepreneurs, and their ability to take risks and innovate, making their legitimate profits and ensuring widespread social well-being, but also workers, who very often in small and medium-sized enterprises are more than just employees – they are in fact real partners that have a hand in the company’s destiny. This is another crucial thing to remember. One could say that the real economy is your ‘core business’, but it is also the core business of our Government because, for us, the real economy means jobs, investment and development, creating wealth and well-being in the country. As you well know, the work this Government is trying to do takes its inspiration from a simple principle: it is companies, and not the State, that generate wealth and employment, while it is the State’s job to put those companies and workers in the best position possible to be able to generate wealth and employment, ensuring the necessary conditions are in place for doing business.
We believe that the State must be an ally for businesses, not an adversary as has often been the case; we believe it must solve problems, not create them; we believe it must create the conditions to ensure those wanting to do business can do so without being hindered by the institutions, and that it must reward those who roll up their sleeves the most. A friendly State for those who do business is a State that reduces the tax burden, fights tax evasion, cuts red tape and writes clear rules. 
This is the vision that has inspired, and continues to inspire, our work. From the measures to address high energy bills to the reform of business incentives, from the fight against unfair competition practices by ‘open and close’ companies to the creation of a business ombudsman, from the new procurement code through to the tax reform enabling law that the Council of Ministers approved just a few days ago. Italy has been waiting for a tax reform for decades, and this reform is designed to stimulate the growth of the Italian economy, with a more efficient tax structure and a reduction of the tax burden. This reform designs a new tax system based on a number of key points: a gradual reduction of IRPEF [personal income tax] rates; introduction of a reduced flat tax on salary increases compared with the previous year(s) also for employees; a gradual reduction of IRES [corporate income tax] with a reward for those who invest and hire people in Italy, based on the principle of “the more you hire, the fewer taxes you owe to the State”. This is just an overview; there are many new things being introduced by the tax reform enabling law. 

Defending the real economy also means having an industrial policy in mind that gives a central role to enterprise and that is able to look beyond the next year, or the next five years, to a much longer horizon. Italy has already paid for its lack of vision over the last decades; a lack of vision that has curbed growth and made our nation dependent on foreign countries in too many sectors. 
We are working to invert this trend and to envisage clear and strategic lines of development. I am thinking, for example, of the goal to make Italy an energy hub for Europe, of the structural investments to defend the ‘Made in Italy’ brand, which is one of our most precious assets, and of the commitment to build value chains that are closer and to make our companies more competitive on international markets. It is an ambitious programme and there will certainly be obstacles along the way, but we are not afraid. We do not lack courage, we do not lack vision and we do not lack respect for the citizens who have given us the task of governing this nation. 
It is the same courage that you have and that you put into what you do every day, when you decide to invest in a new project or bet on a new venture. It also pushes you not to settle, but to always try and do better and get back up again after every fall. This is what we also intend to do: to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to revolutionise this nation, because citizens did not choose us to maintain the status quo; they chose us because they hope we can unleash the best this nation has to offer, they hope we have the strength to carry out the reforms that no one else has had the courage to, they hope we have the strength and determination to go the distance.

It is a difficult path, but one that does not frighten us.
We are certain that we can, and will be able to, count on the contribution of CONFAPI. 
Thank you and I wish you all the best with your work.

[Courtesy translation]