The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently opened to the privatisation of the national railway holding Ferrovie dello Stato (FS Group). The initiative was brought forward because the government needs to find funds to finance the budget law for 2024.
Currently, FS Group and all its subsidiaries are fully owned by the Italian government through the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It is not yet clear how the privatisation of the group will take place. However, during a press conference on 4 January, Meloni said that she wants to reduce the presence of the state where possible.
It needs to be mentioned that not all members of the Italian government are in favour of privatising FS. Ministry of Transport Matteo Salvini, in November, said it was out of the question since the group is considered one of the state’s crown-jewels. Industry experts, including Andrea Giuricin, already said that it will be a long process. “I don’t think it’ll happen before one or two years”, he highlighted in an interview with Nordest Economia.
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