Alberto Aleotti. In the early 1990s, drug bribes and the resulting wave of demagoguery convinced him to buy newspaper pages announcing that he was bored with "this country of crooks" and that he was going to Ireland. He didn't. But after having built the first Italian pharmaceutical company in forty years with almost thirteen thousand employees and 2.4 billion in turnover, the president of Menarini Alberto Aleotti (born in 1926) still has the will to fight. And raise your voice against a budget law that has disappointed him again on the front of the "forced" containment of pharmaceutical spending on agreements because, he explains to Libero Mercato, "the discussion table with the government started in an excellent way but then they got lost along the way. There was something positive but we are still far from other countries. I always think of Ireland where taxes are 12% for both workers and companies. If Menarini were in Ireland or England, it would have a much more favorable tax regime, much higher drug prices and an efficient country system. Even in Germany, where we have two important companies, things are going better than in Italy. Do I need to take the implants to Ireland, England or Germany? The problem in Italy is always the same: when governments have to pay colossal debts, research and development are put aside». According to the owner of Menarini, in fact, the script of twenty years ago is being repeated: «When the governments of the time, to curb inflation, demanded sacrifices from our sector. Result: Lepetit, Pierrel, De Angelis, Carlo Erba had to be sold to foreigners. And industries that had made the history of world pharmaceuticals were killed». In the meantime, the Florentine group – in thirty-third place in the world ranking in the sector and nineteenth in Europe – is looking ahead and above all abroad: in addition to the plants in Florence, Pisa and L'Aquila, Menarini drugs are also produced in Barcelona , Berlin, Dresden, Istanbul and in Guatemala. Not only. Over 60% of turnover is achieved across borders. This is why Aleotti received the Ernst&Young award as best entrepreneur of the year in the "global" category yesterday evening in Milan. A recognition for the rapid internationalization carried out through acquisitions and for the ever-increasing commitment to research. But is Italy still that country of crooks to leave to move to Ireland? «Twenty years ago I planned to build Menarini's largest pharmaceutical plant on the Island of Elba, but they wouldn't let me do it. Today that facility is in Berlin but I keep dreaming about it at night, like a nightmare, because I love Italy. At my age I always hope to honor my country but I'm certainly not optimistic about the future". Civil Code Free Market of 11/23/2007 p. 4
