While the Telecom file still travels on the high seas and the majority are split on the Berlusconi case, another story divides the Letta government. It is once again the possibility of transferring control of an important Italian company to foreign hands. This time, however, we are not talking about strictly strategic assets, but about the national airline: Alitalia.
These are crucial hours for the fate of society. In the morning the board of directors meets, which among other things, will evaluate the hypothesis of a capital increase which should allow the Air France-KLM group to take control of the company. Furthermore, in the next few hours, to discuss this project, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Maurizio Lupi, will meet his French counterpart, Frederic Cuvillier. But there are already protesters in the Executive.
ZANONATO: STOP THE FRENCH, WE ARE LOOKING FOR OTHER PARTNERS
“Air France-Klm's capital increase for Alitalia? I believe that in the end Alitalia would be greatly downsized by this operation – said the Minister of Economic Development, Flavio Zanonato, in an interview with Sole 24 Ore -. We are working on a bridge solution with the involvement of some banks: then the corporate restructuring and the search for other partners. My opinion is that in this phase it is absolutely necessary to avoid Alitalia falling prey to buyers who may have strategic interests other than those of our country. You cannot have two similar shops next to each other, because when one buys the other will naturally tend to limit its action. I am concerned by the hypothesis that a company moves the entire axis of central air transport to France, with Italy marginalized".
WOLVES: I WILL ASK FOR GUARANTEES ON THE PROJECT AND EMPLOYMENT
For his part, Minister Lupi assured Radio Anch'io that he will ask Cuvillier for precise guarantees: "What I will tell Air France, because this is the government's job, is simple: we are interested in the industrial project that an investor has on such a major company. We will ask for guarantees on international flights and hubs and the protection and development of jobs".
THE UNDERSECRETARY FOR THE ECONOMY: FOREIGN SHAREHOLDERS OK, BUT ITALIAN CONTROL
An even more specific position is that of Simona Vicari: "It's fine that there are many shareholders, including foreign ones, but they shouldn't have a share of capital exceeding a certain threshold, which leads to their acquisition and control - said the undersecretary for economic development at Radio 1 Rai -. We are probably intervening on Alitalia in time, with the determination of Minister Lupi, and on this compared to Telecom there is greater sensitivity and technical capacity in the government”.
THE EXPERT: MERGER ONLY ALTERNATIVE TO BANKRUPTCY
Finally, an academic opinion. "Since at the moment the alternative for Alitalia is bankruptcy, we can only accept the proposal of Air France (already a shareholder of the Italian company with a 25% stake which would rise to around 50%, ed)". This was stated in an interview with La Repubblica by Marco Ponti, professor of Transport Economics at the Milan Polytechnic.
As for solutions in defense of Italianness that involve the State Railways or the CDP, Ponti says "enough of public money: let's avoid the intervention of the CDP or the Railways, it would be a re-publicisation after having already spent 5 billion taxpayers" .
Regarding the other possible agreement, the one with the Arab airline Etihad, Ponti clarified: "Given that the marriage now seems to have faded and that the company of the United Arab Emirates, being non-EU, could only have taken over a minority stake of Alitalia, I have to admit that their plan wasn't that bad. Not being a direct competitor of the Italian company, Etihad might have favored the intercontinental line, aiming to lose weight in the other two markets. But things seem to be going differently."
