27 April 2008

The nonexistent bid

Here are some of the comments I made in an interview I gave yesterday to the “La Stampa” daily, regarding the bridging loan granted to Alitalia.
"In the Cabinet meeting, I personally reiterated that no one should take the liberty of implementing provisions that are illegal, and it is my belief that this provision, yet another of those forced through in accordance with Berlusconi’s wishes, will yet be punished by the European Union because it constitutes State aid.
I bear witness to the fact that Berlusconi delivered an ultimatum to the Cabinet: I want three hundred million because I want enough time to put together a bid. His response to those that pointed out that this would constitute State aid, he said that he couldn’t care less and that all he wanted was a bridging loan. Anyone can buy whatever he/she wants as long as they are using the Italian Taxpayers' money.
I am against the utilisation of the institutions in order to undertake any illegal operations. I believe that the European Union will certainly impose a fine on us, that there is no consortium ready to make a bid and that we will end up with the not only the damages, but we will also land up becoming a laughing stock. The damages are the fact of having lost Alitalia as a result of not having re-established open dialogue with Air France, and becoming a laughing stock as a result of losing a further three hundred million, with the bill being picked up by the Italian taxpayer."

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Economy