Silvio Berlusconi, returned to power in Italy's election, vowed on Tuesday to do everything possible to keep Alitalia in the air and said Italian business owners were ready to invest in the struggling airline. Analysts have said a Berlusconi victory would spell the end of the road for Air France-KLM's planned take-over of Alitalia, leaving it ever closer to bankruptcy.
The Air France deal fell apart over union opposition, but Italy's outgoing government had been working to revive it. The airline now has cash left only for the immediate future, and Italy's aviation authority says it risks losing its licence unless it can detail plans for new funding. The carrier meets its unions later on Tuesday.
Berlusconi, who used the prospect of Alitalia being taken over by a foreign airline as a rallying cry during his election campaign, said the airline's survival would be one of the first "emergencies" he would address after taking office.