Fiat Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo on Thursday blasted Italy's political class in an address which some saw as an indication he was poised to enter politics.
Speaking at the annual assembly of the powerful industrial employers association Confindustria, of which he is the current chairman, Montezemolo said politicians on all sides "appear to lack the ability to come up with a plan for the nation which can inspire and engage all Italians".
Politics, he added, "is strong only when it has strong ideas, solutions to propose and an outlook to offer the nation. Today politics is weak and bickering between parties is creating serious risks".
Montezemolo is the latest public figure to speak out against Italy's political class and the so-called price of politics.
"Politics is the biggest company in Italy with almost 180,000 employees. The cost of political representation in Italy is equal to that of France, Britain, Germany and Spain combined," he observed.
Public dissatisfaction with Italian politics was reflected in a poll released this week which showed that only 10% of Italians felt political parties had any relevance today.
Some politicians were already aware of this dissatisfaction and last weekend Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema, the Democratic Left chairman, warned that the divide between parties and voters was worse today than during the Clean Hands corruption scandal 15 years ago.
After listening to Montezemolo's attack, Pier Ferdinando Casini, leader of the centrist UDC opposition party, observed that it appeared to be "a clear announcement that he's coming onto the field" of politics.
"I agreed with much of what he said because he presented an innovative approach compared to the conservative attitude which marks both left and right," he added.
"Perhaps the only thing that was missing was a little self-criticism on the responsibilities of Italy's business class," Casini said.
Welfare Minister Paolo Ferraro said Montezemolo's address was "three-quarters political and delivered by a party leader".
Fedele Confalonieri, chairman of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's media group Mediaset, said the address was "a political program and a very good one".
In his address, Montezemolo said that business "cannot operate according to the pace and the rituals of party politics. We cannot afford to not decide and waste time".
Speaking to the assembly for the last time as Confindustria chairman - his term expires this year - Montezemolo said Italy's economic recovery was still not consolidated and that the business sector needed reforms and fewer restrictions, as well as lower corporate taxes, in order to grow.
The Fiat chairman also said that pension reform, a key political stumbling block, was not difficult "because all that needs to be done is to fully apply the reforms which have been adopted since 1995".
