ROMA – The privatization of Ita Airwaysput into question since the fall of the Draghi government, has not yet definitively set. The Presidency of the Council of Ministers is working on an opinion that will encourage the sale to continue.
The thesis of the opinion in progress is that the sale of the public airline, although it is a politically demanding act, fall within the “handling of current affairs”. The resigning premier, therefore, would be authorized to manage it.
On the other hand, the operation is regulated by a law, from a Dpcm that dates back to March. So it lives and survives with precise regulatory coverage.
Ita, the latest turbulence on the sale. The government slows down. The company: privatization is a commitment with the EU
by Aldo Fontanarosa
The risk of disputes
Beyond the opinion, influential personalities of the Presidency – close to Draghi since he took office – have convictions on the issue. They fear that:
– the two consortiums running can challenge Italy for the interruption of the tender,
– Ita Airways will need a substantial capital injection in the autumn,
– the EU classifies the money invested by Italy as state aid (ie prohibited).
Stop privatization, therefore, it would have a triple perverse effect. The country would see an economic income fade (the money the buyer would pay for Ita). In addition, Italy would be obliged to pay you a few hundred million into the company so that it continues to fly. Millions that Europe would contest if privatization were even slowed down. The damage, the insult and the legal trouble.
These arguments are shared by top figures of Ita Airways, who cheer for the sale. In these hours, the carrier plans to collect opinions truthfulness that support the idea of continuing the operation. Issue on which Sabino Cassese, president emeritus of the Constitutional Court, could authoritatively say his opinion.
No emergency accounts
But the personalities who still surround Draghi do not all have the same view of the case. Between Palazzo Chigi and the Ministry of Economy, equally authoritative voices they think the sale should be frozen, pending the new executive.
The risk that the ropes on the pitch (the Msc group with Lufthansa; the Certares fund with Air France and Delta) suing the state are considered remote. On the other hand, the Ministry of Economy would stop the race for Ita certainly not on a whim, but after a traumatic and unexpected event such as the fall of the executive.
There is no emergency accounts. In these hours, the ministry has ascertained that Ita is selling many tickets in the summer guaranteeing a positive cash flow of 188 million, between now and September. The 400 million capital increase that Italy is entitled to make this year is anything but urgent and can be decided by the new government, without anxiety.
It’s still. A preliminary sale of Ita, signed in August, it would contain severe penalties. In other words, the buyer would be entitled to substantial compensation if the new government refuses to also sign the final deed of sale, let’s suppose in December.
Draghi would therefore sign an act (the preliminary) without being sure that his successor will endorse the sale (with the definitive deed). And the mechanism could involve the payment of record penalties. Penalties, in a sense, announced. Is all this wise?
The consortiums competing for Ita want airports with the Tav
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The Rampelli line
In a complex scenario, the German media are looking for a lot Fabio Rampelli, deputy of the Brothers of Italy, which has always started cold towards the sale of Ita Airways. Interviewed by a TV, Rampelli explains that “The plan for the company will be completely changedif we win the elections of 25 September “.
“We will have time per let Italy manage the Italian air transport businesshaving the Germans or French do it would be mortifying and would represent a useless gift that someone would have to explain“. Then, more cautious: “At the very least, the state, the seventh industrialized power in the world, must remain in ownership exactly as France does with Air France and Germany with Lufthansa”.