In forty years, Alitalia is already cost 8,6 billion eurosbetween actual capital increases and other public funding. Which is equivalent to saying - according to a calculation made by Il Sole 24 Ore - that to date Alitalia has cost 143 euros to every Italian, including infants, even for those who do not fly.
In fact, if it weren't for a misunderstood sense of national pride and for the defense of substantial patronage interests, which they manifest themselves both in jobs that are often bogus and in contracts, it is not clear why there are still political forces (Five Stars in the lead, and luckily they should represent the government of change) who stubbornly insist on saving the airline, despite the fact that consumers can choose other carriers at cheaper prices, as in case of low cost.
But the deputy premier grillino Luigi Di Maio, as the spring elections approach, makes it a point of honor and plans to convert the loan granted by the previous government to Alitalia into shares, thus allowing the State to enter the capital, alongside which - in a special newco - they should enter the Cassa depositi e prestiti (despite the firm opposition of the banking foundations which represent 20%), the Ferrovie dello Stato, which presented a non-binding expression of interest, and other private partners, including perhaps the Post Office and possibly a heavy-shouldered foreign airline.
Rightly the Minister of Economy, Giovanni Tria, rebelled against such an unfortunate hypothesis and, claiming his own institutional powers, said bluntly that "the owner must speak of the things the Treasury does", i.e. he, who never expressed himself in purpose but who sees Di Maio's idea as smoke and mirrors. Unfortunately, however, Tria's political weight, as we have seen in the appointments and in the Def, is modest and if there is a tug-of-war in the government, we already know how it will end. Taxpayers will be called to pay again for a hopeless bailout of Alitalia which, even if it filled all its planes, would not be able to make ends meet because the fixed costs (especially personnel) are unsustainable. But for the Five Stars (and for the League) this is the least of the worries, with all due respect to the Minister of Economy.
