It lasted “l'espace d'un matin”, as the French poet wrote Francois de Malherbe, the promise of the Government to respect the rules of the market and to remain neutral in the face of the bank risk. As soon as the city and the province of Siena have shown their discontent in the face of theIntesa Sanpaolo takeover bid, launched in collaboration with Unipol on Monte dei Paschi, the government's Pavlovian reflexes, or, to put it more clearly, the center-right's electoral interests, have forcefully resurfaced. And the effect of the prime minister's interview Giorgia Meloni to "Milano Finanza“, curiously supported by the Pd, found yesterday in the countermove of the CEO of MPS, Louis Lovaglio, its full implementation. "I hope that market dynamics," the prime minister maintained, "can lead to an even more solid and competitive system, capable of generating benefits for families and businesses. And that MPS doesn't end up dismembered, losing its name and identity."
The Prime Minister's intervention seemed academic but, on the contrary, it was worthwhile - as in the times of the Siena takeover Mediobanca – to boost Lovaglio, who hasn't missed the opportunity to oppose Intesa Sanpaolo's takeover bid and, above all, Unipol, which is expected to acquire half of the Siena-based group's branches while retaining the Monte dei Paschi name. But Monte dei Paschi's future cannot be addressed through local considerations. Julius Caesar He used to say he'd rather be first in Gaul than second in Rome, but nowadays, is it better to be first in Siena or to become an active part of the leading Italian banking champion and a major European group? Is it better to be the third banking hub or the first?
Be especially careful to look at the finger without seeing the moon: we want to pretend to forget that the point of arrival of the ongoing risk is the safety or otherwise of the Generali, which is the true jewel of Italian finance and the guardian of a substantial portion of the public debt? What, then, is the best way to defend the independence of the Lion of Trieste? That is the question.
It is up to the market, and first of all to the MPS shareholders in the extraordinary meeting, to decide whether to prefer the offer of Charles Messina Intesa Sanpaolo or Luigi Lovaglio, but the government's promised neutrality remains a sweet pipe dream. A leopard can't change its spots.
