Remote question and answer between Romano Prodi, former Prime Minister, and Adolfo Urso, Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, regarding the sale of Alfa Romeo from IRI (Institute for Industrial Reconstruction) to Fiat in 1986. Almost 40 years have already passed, 37 to be precise, but in the eyes of many that operation still resonates today as a big mistake made by Italian politics. And in recent days Ursus he didn’t hesitate to remember it once more.
Urso’s attack
“The big political mistake of cars is when the president of IRI at the time decided to sell Alfa Romeo to Fiat and not accept Ford’s investment – the words of the minister at the 38th edition of the Capri Conference of Young Entrepreneurs – And it is precisely for this reason that today in Italy we have a single car manufacturer while in other countries, such as France, Germany, Poland, there are three, four or five. Therein lies the great mistake of Italian politics, ed he has a first and last name: Romano Prodi“. A direct attack therefore, in which the “culprit” is one and only one according to the accuser.
Prodi isn’t in it
Guilty who, as expected, did not hesitate to defend himself and express his point of view. “I am forced to refresh the minister’s memory of that stretch of our country’s industrial history. My goal has never been to sell Alfa Romeo to Fiat: I have never been a monopolist – Prodi clarified – Instead, I made contact with all the possible buyers and only Ford showed interest. The negotiations, masterfully conducted by Finmeccanica technicians, led to a request from Ford for talks with me. When their plan was ready, I warned Alex Trotman, president of Ford of Europe, that once it was made public, everyone in Italy, under the pressure of Fiat, would react, from unions to mayors to entrepreneurs. And so it was. Ford, despite this, had decided that it would not offer a single dollar more. Fiat stepped forward putting more money on the table and also offering to buy all the shares, unlike Ford which, as it had promised, did not raise. At that point Finmeccanica had no alternative but to sell to the highest bidder, according to legal obligations.”
Controversy subdued
Is it over here? Obviously not: Urso in fact felt obliged to counterattack again, this time to try to calm the waters despite the fact that it was he who had lit the fuse with a targeted and precise accusation: “No controversy with president Prodi, then president of IRI of which Finmeccanica was also a member. He himself underlines that that choice was a serious mistake he made compromised national interests in the carbecause you should never give up your competitor to one that would become the only market player, effectively a monopolist. No other country in the world has done this“.
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