Deal to save Italian national airline Alitalia collapses

The bankrupt Italian airline, Alitalia, faces imminent collapse after a consortium of Italian industrialists today withdrew its offer to buy the carrier.
Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister, said: "We are facing the abyss." Luigi Angeletti, head of the UIL union, one of three unions that had accepted the bid by the Italian Air Company (CAI), said that the collapse was "a catastrophe for Italian society and trades unions".
The news comes after weeks of brinkmanship, with unions banking on being able to squeeze further concessions from the consortium and calculating that Mr Berlusconi, who had put his prestige on the line to find an "Italian solution", would not allow it to fail. More... Discount Magazine Subscriptions - Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco - Nutty News