The martial defence of Alitalia

The daily La Repubblica compares Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's insistence on an Italian company taking over the ailing airline Alitalia with the defence of the Italian lines along the Piave River during World War I. "[Berlusconi] has used the Alitalia affair to further his own election interests by passing it off as the defence of national interests. All the painful stages in the airline's prolonged ordeal stem from this original sin that has given birth to a number of aberrations. ... Both Lufthansa and Air France must be granted the same conditions as domestic partners. A minority share is unlikely to last long on the European market. If one of the two airlines makes an offer ... Berlusconi is obliged to give it serious consideration. Alitalia is not the Piave, it's an airline. All that matters for the Italians is that it keeps on flying, regardless under which flag."

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