🇮🇹🇩🇪 OPINION: ITALY’S FACTORIES ARE BEATING GERMANY AND FRANCE, AND IT’S NOT ABOUT PRICE... IT’S ABOUT POWER
For years, we were told Germany’s engineering and France’s design were unbeatable.
Turns out, Italy’s been quietly lapping them in exports. Growing twice as fast as Germany and triple France in the last decade.
Not because it’s cheaper. Because it’s better.
High-quality goods. Smart production. Tight design. From fashion to food to pharmaceuticals, Italy’s manufacturing is winning where it counts: *global demand*.
And this isn’t some lucky streak.
Italy’s industry is now the second biggest in Europe, eighth in the world, and pulls in a €120 billion surplus that literally keeps the country’s energy running and books balanced.
Factories here invest more, carry less debt, and pay better salaries than both the public sector and services.
The tiny firms are shrinking, sure. But the big ones are getting sharper, faster, and richer. The industry’s scaling up, not tapping out.
And while Germany stalls and France fumbles, Italy’s holding its own despite sky-high energy costs, a tech transition, and an EU that still doesn’t quite get it.
Now Confindustria (Italy’s main industry association and manufacturing think tank) says the next leap is full digital: AI, automation, smart everything. The blueprint’s right there.
Italy just needs the political class to stop dragging its feet and back the winners.
Because here’s the quiet truth no one wants to admit:
Meloni's economy is outperforming Europe’s darlings and doing it with style.
Source: il messaggero