This paper provides an overview of how Italian policymakers have discussed industrial policy from the post-war period to the present. We conduct a quantitative and qualitative text analysis of the parliamentary debates in the lower House of Parliament, the Camera dei Deputati, from 1948 to 2022. In this analysis, we identify four distinct phases in the way Italian policymakers have approached industrial policy in the parliamentary arena. First, in the immediate post-war period, industrial policy was seen as crucial for the country’s economic development (1950s-1970s). This was followed by a phase of declining popularity (1980s), during which industrial policy was portrayed as being captured by rent-seeking interest groups. In the third phase (1990s–2010s), which was marked by the introduction of stricter EU state aid rules and greater fiscal constraints, Italian parliamentarians largely continued to maintain a critical stance towards industrial policy. When support was expressed, it was primarily reactive and defensive—motivated by concerns over offshoring and the need to shield traditional sectors, such as agriculture and heavy industry, from the pressures of globalization. In the most recent period (since the mid-2010s), discussions around industrial policy have instead become increasingly aligned with European priorities, particularly in relation to the green and digital transitions. Moreover, in recent years, policymakers across the political spectrum have increasingly voiced concern over the rapid pace of privatization and the broader withdrawal of the state from the economy seen in previous decades.

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