Italian pride at stake as Alitalia faces collapse
Alitalia faces liquidation on Monday
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Friday, 19, Sep 2008 07:59
Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi seems set to lose a large proportion of his political capital as he faces the prospect of liquidating national airline Alitalia.
The business had several flights cancelled today, sparking fears it may be running out of fuel, with rail firms laying on extra trains to cope with the surge in demand.
Mr Berlusconi returned to the Italian premiership earlier this year with "I love Italy, I fly Alitalia" as one of his campaign slogans.
He has previously resisted a takeover bid by Air France on nationalistic grounds but now seems likely to pay for that decision as the Italian airline faces liquidation.
Yesterday a €1 billion takeover bid by the Italian Air Consortium was rejected by six out of nine unions, who cited planned job cuts as their reason.
And today Italy's National Civil Aviation Authority said it would meet on Monday to discuss the airline's future, meaning Mr Berlusconi has only limited time to put together a deal to save Alitalia.
Most believe he is likely to fail. Gian Mari Gros Pietro, who was involved in the failed rescue bid, told the Reuters news agency: "Italy's airline market is very attractive and will probably end up with a foreign company, which will be interested in the market and not in serving the country."