In commenting on the 2026 budget, Cavaliere De Rosa acknowledged that the margins are tight and defended the government’s approach, deeming it consistent with a highly constrained public finance framework. He reserved his harshest criticism, however, for the European framework and its leadership, which he often considers capable of imposing constraints with great speed but far less effective at creating concrete conditions for competitiveness. At the heart of his reflection, he placed a concept that, in his view, is worth more to businesses than any slogan: stability.

Cavaliere De Rosa explained that, for a business, stability is not a form of “comfort,” but a true invisible infrastructure. It is what makes it possible to invest, hire, plan, sign multi-year contracts, and finance innovation. In the absence of stability, he argued, capital tends to withdraw, horizons narrow, and even employment becomes more precarious. He therefore stated unequivocally that, from an entrepreneurial perspective, stability carries more weight than a one-off incentive, more than a one-time bonus, and more than an announcement.

Getting down to specifics, he clarified that by “stability” he means rules that are understandable and do not change with every passing season, a predictable tax system, reliable administrative timelines, energy costs that are not subject to sudden fluctuations, and a geopolitical context that does not turn logistics and markets into a daily game of roulette. When these variables fluctuate too much, he added, a business does not merely incur an additional cost. It changes its behavior, reduces investments, postpones hiring, increases hedging and safety margins, raises prices, and builds up inventories. And, in the end, that cost falls on the country.

 

For Cavaliere De Rosa, stability is therefore not an abstraction. It is a multiplier of productivity and confidence. In a stable environment, he observed, decisions are made with a three- to five-year horizon. In an unstable environment, thinking is limited to three months. And when an economic system becomes accustomed to the short term, it tends to lose quality, investment, and, gradually, even a certain work ethic, because the logic of “getting by” prevails over that of building.

He highlighted the objectives associated with the 2026 budget, citing the deficit trajectory and noting that, at the same time, the debt would remain high. In such a context, he insisted, stability also means prudence. It means avoiding unnecessary shocks, refraining from risky experiments, and not adopting policies that give and take away within a matter of months.

For this reason, he stated that he views the government’s approach positively, arguing that, within a constrained context, maintaining a consistent and non-disruptive course serves the country and the productive sector. He reiterated the idea of a budget based on seriousness and responsibility and, as an entrepreneur, emphasized that continuity is a value because it reduces that “risk premium” that ultimately burdens businesses and households.

It is against this backdrop that, according to Cavaliere De Rosa, the European issue emerges. In his view, Europe demands discipline but does not always guarantee competitive stability. He acknowledged that fiscal discipline has its own logic and noted that the European Union has reestablished a governance framework with multi-year trajectories. However, he emphasized that Europe is less effective at reducing the factors that generate real instability, citing energy, infrastructure, bureaucracy, and decision-making timelines. From here his political conclusion. In his view, demanding fiscal stability without building economic stability is a half-hearted endeavor.

On the social front, Cavaliere De Rosa warned that instability tends to make society more rigid. Mistrust and polarization increase, and the feeling grows that people are always paying the price without seeing any improvements. When people perceive mainly uncertainty and sacrifice, he observed, sooner or later neither the transition nor the rhetoric will hold up.

In closing, summarizing what he considers essential for 2026, he identified a fundamental promise a government should make to businesses. A simple and credible promise, based on the certainty of the framework. Do not change the rules every six months. In his view, it is precisely this continuity that unlocks investment. And where there is investment, he concluded, there is work. Where there is work, there is social cohesion.