Silvio Berlusconi campaigned and won his third term as Italian prime minister this week saying he would keep Alitalia in Italian hands, but already there are signs his stance has softened towards the one foreign bidder ” Air France-KLM.
Berlusconi has made comments suggesting he is ready to examine the Air France proposal ” having seemingly failed to persuade any homegrown investors to make a move - so long as it guarantees an Italian identity for the nation”s flag carrier.
Alitalia has been losing huge amounts of money for some time and the out-going centre left government is keen to hold meetings quickly as bankruptcy and administration looms ” as of 31 March the carrier said it had around ”170m ($270m) in the bank.
The carrier”s Board of Directors noted in a statement yesterday (16 April) there had been a ”press release issued by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers relative to the possibility that [Alitalia”s] situation will be examined in detail during a meeting between the government and a delegate representing the leader of the coalition that won the general election, also regarding the possibility of fulfilling some of the conditions put forward by Air France-KLM for the presentation of the public exchange offer.”
It is thought this will now be held some time next week.
Meanwhile the Board also reported ”on recent contacts with the trade union organisations aimed at checking the possibility, also following initiatives taken by the government, of reaching a positive agreement to finalise the negotiations with Air France-KLM.”
The support of these unions is vital to Air France, and it was their rejection of its proposal which scared it away first time around. The French airline”s plan to revitalise Alitalia involved axing thousands of jobs and cutting services from Milan Malpensa.
After all Berlusconi”s nationalist posturing in what was such a pervasive election issue, it does appear this take-over deal is breathing once again ” although Air France is currently not giving any comment on the matter.