Public affairs, if Europe looks at the Italian market

The Italian Public Affairs sector continues its evolution with constantly growing companies, investments by funds, new acquisitions, mergers and above all expansions both inside and outside the Italian territory - usually towards Brussels - in order to facilitate the management of European dossiers.

However, this expansion process is not unidirectional. In fact, if it is true that Italian companies now cannot avoid having an increasingly European dimension, the same can be said of European consultancy companies which cannot neglect the national level and, therefore, the Italian market. We discussed it with Luigi Ferrata, Managing Partner of the Italian office of Rud Pedersen Public Affairs, one of the largest European consultancy firms in the public affairs and communications sector which has offices in 18 EU countries.

Your company is rapidly expanding and last March you opened an office here in Italy. Why now?

LF: Rud Pedersen Group is in a phase of great expansion and only in the last year has it expanded its presence to Ukraine, Spain and the Czech Republic. A similar process cannot ignore Italy, as ours is one of the founding countries of European Union, the continent's third largest economy, Europe's second largest manufacturing industry and a major global exporter. To this purely economic aspect, we must add some considerations of a political nature linked to Italy's role within the Parliament, where our representation is one of the most numerous, in the Commission where we historically hold portfolios of great importance and lastly in the Council where our country is one of the most important presences. Furthermore, the role played by Brussels must be considered. The Belgian capital is characterizing itself as a landing point for international clients who increasingly prefer to hire a "one stop shop" consultancy company that acts as the sole interlocutor both at a central level and in the various member countries for the various support activities. It is for this reason, therefore, that it is necessary to guarantee a presence in the main European capitals and therefore also in Rome.

Therefore Italy cannot be ignored, especially in view of the next elections.

LF: Yes, certainly. In this historical period, our country, precisely by virtue of its history and size, can play an important role in many difficult dossiers. However, our real weight will largely depend both on the political choices that will be made in the coming months by institutional decision-makers (see PNRR) and, above all, on the new parliamentarians who will represent Italy and on who will join the next Commission.

Speaking of Europe, what does it mean for a player accustomed to acting within regulated systems to arrive in the Italian system which is still looking for a regulatory framework for the sector?

LF: In the past I too have been part of working groups organised by previous Governments and Parliaments to arrive at regulation of lobbying activity and obviously even today, Rud Pedersen is ready to collaborate and make their international experience available to the legislator. It is, however, also true that regulating the lobby is a very difficult task because there are numerous loopholes that prevent the identification of complete and exhaustive legislation capable of being applied to all cases. It is enough to look at what has happened in Europe where there are numerous obligations on the lobbyist but many fewer on politicians or on those who have recently left politics.

Are you referring to cases of foreign interference through parliamentarians and former parliamentarians?

LF: Exactly. This is an example, but there are many others that demonstrate how there are so many different scenarios that even the best regulation is imperfect. In principle, it's good to have regulation, but it's much, much more important that a significant role is left to civil society, watchdogs, and the press, who must monitor and supervise, bringing questionable or unethical behaviours to the attention of the public, without wanting to be executioners and holding trials in the square.

On the other hand, however, we have a problem of authoritativeness of the sources. This control can always be challenged by the problem of fake news.

LF: It's true, everything can be manipulated and fake news is a big problem. Given that complex problems have complex answers and that it is a very long and very difficult battle, in my opinion we have two paths: that of creating a critical conscience in people by investing in training, certainly not a short-term process which, however, can bring very important results; the second is represented by the use of technology through the use of systems linked to artificial intelligence which allow fake news to be identified more easily. By acting in this way, perhaps we will be able to manage the problem with greater awareness.

You have a long experience which has seen you hold important roles in numerous companies, including international ones, in the sector. What differentiates Rud Pedersen Public Affairs from other consultancies?

LF: The Italian market has evolved extremely positively thanks to the presence of companies that offer high quality services in line with best practices at a European level. In recent months, we are also witnessing a phase of consolidation with the entry of private equity funds. Having made the necessary premises of the case and a fair applause to our competitors, I believe that there are however some distinctive aspects in our activity that distinguish us and characterise us: i) our European matrix. According to some analyses, approximately 75% of the legislation adopted at national level comes from the European Union. Rud Pedersen is one of the most important companies in Brussels with a team of 80 people and solid presence in the main European capitals. Our objective, in addition to growth in the domestic market, is to shorten the distance between Rome and Brussels and to create a bridge with the different capitals; ii) skills on European funds , increasingly important in the creation and growth of businesses. Thanks to our Funding and Partnership department, we aim to accompany companies in accessing community funds; iii) lastly, to complete our offer, there is a very high level Senior Advisor Board, within which there are former political leaders, Ambassadors, Generals, Directors and Heads of Cabinet of the Commission and important business managers, who can offer great support in defining tailor-made strategies and approaches.

How does this approach allow you to enter a very particular market with small, hyper-specialised boutiques on one side and large players on the other?

LF: First of all, with regards to size and given the developments of the Italian market, I think it is important to underline that we are a company controlled entirely by partners and there are no external investors, funds or parent companies. In terms of services, however, we enter this market by offering a bridge with Brussels. Unlike our national competitors, who first structured themselves in Italy and then opened offices in Europe, we followed the opposite path. We are European by our very nature, ours is the baggage of a company present in 17 EU member countries which has structured an offer deeply based on a multilevel approach capable of responding to all the needs of companies.