Under the heading “Mattei Plan” on the website of the Ministry of University and Research we read: “The Mattei Plan for Africa is the Italy’s strategic project for diplomacy, development cooperation and investment to strengthen and renew ties with the continent. The Plan includes both the development of new projects and active support for initiatives already underway, sharing the development, definition and implementation phases with African states, with the aim of bringing real added value to the local population.
The government has identified for the first phase a series of pilot countries (Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Kenya) for concrete and rapid implementation actions along six areas of intervention: health, education and training, agriculture, water, energy and infrastructure. Furthermore, initiatives can also be developed in other areas, starting from the culture and sports sector”.
In principle, it is good to ensure that the new cooperation arrangements are aimed at strengthening the ties and influence of Western democracies with Africa (and not only), in order to stabilize those countries, preventing them from falling under the influence of regimes that are not democratic, and whose expansionist aims do not exactly aim at balanced and democratic development. Governments and countries driven by statist and illiberal ideologies reasonably cannot lead to the development of democratic governments in other people’s homes.
The name of Mattei, however, does not evoke very clear positions regarding which path to follow. He wrote, way back in 1957 with his usual lucidity of analysis, Sergio Ricossa: “The Eni empire has a capital, Metanopoli; an economic policy, obviously; and a foreign policy, less obviously. For example, it supports Algeria against France, Egypt against France and England, who want to take back the Suez Canal. Mattei is an angry nationalistbeing an imperialist he hates American imperialism, but not Islamic imperialism. He is coveted by Islamic hydrocarbons, and would like them to be controlled not by the United States, Great Britain and France, but by Italy. Mussolinian megalomania, which seduces his numerous followers on the right and especially on the left, Christian Democrats and non-Christian Democrats. He has many tutelary deities: he has lost Vanoni, deceased, but he still has none other than the head of state, Gronchi. Like Mussolini, he is a great actor: his cold temper tantrums are famous, recited. Valletta admires and fears him, he thinks the excess of anti-Americanism is too risky” (How to ruin a country – Rizzoli 1995).
A Mattei plan then, but not exactly “à la Mattei”, that is, one that does not go in anti-Western directions, that does not leave too much of Africa at the mercy of countries governed by anti-capitalist and anti-market regimes and ideologies. The great economic historian Carlo M. Cipolla recalled how in the industrial revolutions that took place in the so-called underdeveloped areas, the State has always ended up playing a preponderant roleand often, as in certain African societies, the army has presented itself as the only organised force and the only possible interlocutor.
This has often led to the creation of corrupt bureaucratic apparatuses, mostly specialized in managing and dividing up the enormous international resources allocated for cooperation. Development cooperation plans are therefore welcome, but perhaps rather than a “Mattei Plan” we need many “Milei plans” to develop the economies of countries that have been too long stuck in costly and unsuccessful plans and often in the hands of corrupt regimes.
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