Renzi had criticized Marchionne in Repubblica.it, saying, “It’s not I who have changed my mind, but Marchionne, who has not only changed his mind, but has also betrayed me. He will always have this mark against him for having cheated the workers and politicians, promising something that he never intended to carry out. I only said, in an interview with Enrico Mentana, that if I had a vote in FIAT, I would have voted ‘yes’ with no ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ in a referendum that appeared to be political blackmail applied by Marchionne.”
The classification of “little and poor” related to Florence has sparked anger in Florence. Political, trade associations and even churchmen criticized Marchionne.
In the late night on the newsageny appears a new statement by the FIAT CEO: “The comments about Florence’ were, to my knowledge, taken out of context and should not be construed as my opinion on the value of Florence, a city for art, culture and science valued and respected worldwide, an assessment with which I agree fully.”