L’intervento statale nell’economia e’ cosa risaputa. Sara’ questo il motivo per il quale noti giornali “capitalisti” si scagliano contro i politici “comunisti”?

WallStreetJournal. Seicentosessantasei.

Air Silvio

It’s rare for a politician to spark a serious crisis before he’s even won office. That’s what Silvio Berlusconi has done with Alitalia. If, as expected, he wins a third term as Prime Minister next weekend, Mr. Berlusconi will deserve every headache Italy’s flag carrier brings him.

Alitalia is bleeding about €1 million a day and may not survive the summer unless restructured. Rome wants to get things started by selling its 49.9% stake in the airline. But Air France-KLM, the only serious bidder, walked away from the table Wednesday. The Franco-Dutch carrier said labor-union demands would have made it impossible to restore Alitalia to profitability soon. EU regulators have ruled out another public bailout.

The unions wouldn’t have had much leverage here if it weren’t for Mr. Berlusconi. The center-right leader has railed against the Air France-KLM bid during the campaign. He says that Italian businessmen are lining up to help rescue Alitalia – though he refuses to identify them. “We have touched on the pride of a healthy and competitive flagship,” he said in an interview that Libero newspaper published yesterday.

If his mysterious white knights are as numerous as Alitalia is “healthy and competitive,” then the airline’s employees and customers are in for a disappointment.