"I am absolutely in favor of the privatization of the second tranche" of Poste Italiane, "in the sense that control must remain in public hands" through the share of Cassa depositi e prestiti. So Development Minister Carlo Calenda distanced himself from what Undersecretary Antonello Giacomelli said a few days ago. "Privatisations in a country with a high debt are important - Calenda specified - to reduce the debt and have further margins for investing in development".
The Undersecretary for Development Antonello Giacomelli, with responsibility for Communications, had intervened on the issue in recent days, saying he was against the further privatization of Poste Italiane. The capital of the company, listed on the Stock Exchange after the first opening to private individuals, is currently divided between CDP 35%, Treasury 29,3% and 21,8% institutional investors. 13,9% is in the hands of individual savers.
The urgency of resuming the privatization program was reiterated on Wednesday by Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan in response to the findings of the OECD, during the presentation of the Outlook on the Italian economy. The two giants to be opened up to private capital are Poste, partly already sold, and above all Ferrovie dello Stato. But just a few days ago on Fs, Transport Minister Graziano Delrio, who had already raised doubts about the privatization model to be adopted in the past, distanced himself from the hypothesis of listing the Frecce on the Stock Exchange this year, raising the problem of commuters on high-speed trains. The merger project between Fs and Anas remains in the background.
