The new government has recently taken office, and on Sunday 23 October – with the bell ritual – there was the symbolic handover between Mario Draghi and Giorgia Meloni.
There has been much discussion about some novelties in the names of the dicasteries, which are certainly not just semantic adjustments, but denote a very precise vision of society.. And so, the ministry for the South and Territorial Cohesion has become the ministry for the South and the Sea, that of Economic Development is now the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, that of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies is called the Ministry of ‘Agriculture and Food Sovereignty. And above all, the ministry of Equal Opportunities and the Family will be called the ministry for the Family, Birth and Equal Opportunities.
In all of this, another thing happened that made many turn up their noses. The Ministry for Digital Transition no longer exists in the Meloni government. The move seemed truly anachronistic. Let’s try to analyze it better.
Farewell to the digital transition ministry
The Ministry of Digital Transition, whose full name was the Ministry of Technological Innovation and Digital Transition, still has its official website but in fact it no longer exists.
The question that arises is not so much what happened to the department, but who will now deal with digital.
We at Tech Princess too have repeatedly given you an account of the country’s digitization plan, and of the objectives of the former minister Vittorio Colao, who is not very clear now by whom it will be managed.
It could be assumed that Raffaele Fitto, minister for European policies with responsibility for the PNRR, will deal with it. Especially because as many as 27% of the funds of the Plan are destined for digitization.
A role in this sense could also be played by Adolfo Urso, Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, and Paolo Zangrillo, Minister of Public Administration.
But what is causing a sensation is that the ministry has lost ownership and autonomy, and everything related to digital now appears as subordinate to other and more urgent tasks.
The digital hub in Italy
On the contrary, and for various reasons, with or without the Ministry for Digital Transition, digitization is fundamental for Italy.
The examples are countless: from the fact that we are the country in Europe most exposed to hacker attacks, to the 5G network expansion plan still far from being completed.
And again, digital literacy is a central factor: both because too many individuals still adopt highly vulnerable passwords, and because continuous reports show that companies themselves care too little about safeguarding their data.
Digital in the center-right electoral program
In fact, in the electoral program of the center-right, no space has been given to digital.
There were only three issues mentioned: strengthening and development of digital infrastructures and extension of ultra-broadband; digitization, efficiency and modernization of the Public Administration; support for the digitization of the entire tourism and culture sector.
A vagueness confirmed by the cut of the Ministry for Digital Transition, and by the silence (at least for now) on who will manage that 27% of the funds allocated by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
AssoRTD protests
Francesco Andriani, president of AssoRTD, an association that represents those responsible for the Digital Transition in Italy, spoke about the disappearance of the Ministry for Digital Transition.
In addition to the regret, in AssoRTD there is the clear feeling that the closure of the department means a step backwards compared to what has been done so far in terms of digital transition.
AssoRTD expressed itself during the election campaign, underlining that in the programs of the various political parties there was minimal attention to the theme of digital transformation and innovation.
The words of Francesco Andriani
Francesco Andriani said: “We had already denounced the lack of attention on the part of the parties on the issue of digital transformation and, unfortunately, the appointment of new ministers saw the dissolution of the department headed by Vittorio Colao.
Now we believe that for a correct continuation of the work begun with the past legislature, it is essential to identify an undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council that we have the delegation to digitization hoping not to have to witness backward steps such as that of reviewing the same reassigned to a ministry such as MISE or Public Function. In our opinion, this choice would entail a lack of that focus and propulsive thrust that the digital transition deserves in our country.
In conclusion, we are not only surprised about the death of the Dicastery but, indeed, we would have expected the Ministry of Digital Sovereignty given that, as they say, the data of our public administration and citizens are the gold of the future ”.