Antonio Filosa is the new CEO of Stellantis. He’s not an outsider brought in from outside the company. He’s someone who comes from Sergio Marchionne’s era—a time when people looked at the numbers, talked about manufacturing, made quick decisions, and didn’t make promises they couldn’t keep. When someone with that background goes on television and says that Italian plants will have a mission, it means the group is truly thinking about an industrial Italy—not just a commercial one.

For Cav. Domenico De Rosa, this message was necessary. In recent months, the country has been gripped by uncertainty. There has been talk of cutbacks, relocations, cars that aren’t selling, and electric vehicles that aren’t taking off. Hearing that Italy remains in the manufacturing sector is a breath of fresh air. For those who work in factories, for component suppliers, for those in transportation and logistics who must decide whether to buy trucks, open a new rail link, or invest in a terminal. Without guaranteed production, no one invests.

But we need to be honest here. A company may want to stay in Italy. But if Europe keeps drafting regulations that have no connection to the market, even the best CEO can only go so far. Today we face a paradox. We’re imposing a very costly transition on families who don’t have high incomes, forcing carmakers to produce vehicles that many people can’t afford, and then we’re surprised when the Chinese move in. Filosa made it clear: the problem isn’t China. The problem is Brussels. It’s the excess of regulations. It’s the fact that Europe has imposed obligations without providing the tools to support businesses and citizens.

This is where politics comes in. Because if the CEO of a global group says the burden is European, it means there’s a political window of opportunity. Italy cannot leave this window closed. It must go to Brussels with the other car-producing countries and demand three things. First: a transition that saves jobs, not destroys them. Second: realistic timelines, tied to actual technologies, not imagined ones. Third: the defense of the small European car—the one Italians have always bought and which now risks disappearing under the weight of regulations.

If this step is taken, according to De Rosa, Filosa’s words will become reality. Italian factories will truly have a mission, logistics will be able to plan ahead, and workers will be able to look to the coming years with less fear. If, on the other hand, Europe continues to punish manufacturers, then not even a manager trained in the Marchionne school of thought will be able to guarantee anything. And what is a good statement on TV today may no longer be enough tomorrow.

The words were right, but now decisions are needed. Because Italy can stay in the factory, but Europe must stop treating the factory as a problem and must start considering it a source of wealth again.