Open letter:
Who benefits from the total privatization of Poste Italiane?
An appeal to Ferrara politicians
These days, the permanent committees (competent for the subject matter) of the Chamber and Senate are discussing the draft decree of the President of the Council of Ministers containing the definition of the privatization criteria and the methods of divestment of a further share of the participation, held by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in the capital of Poste Italiane Spa (equal to 29.7%).
The Government (through the Ministry of Economy and Finance) assures that it will maintain, after this further sale of shares (the first trance was placed in October last year), however, the power of control over the Poste company through the Cassa e Depositi e Prestiti (The MEF is the majority shareholder, the rest of CDP's shares are held by some banking foundations) to whom, a few weeks ago, he “sent” the 35% of Poste Italiane shares.
Having said this, I think it is my duty to point out to the citizens of our territory that, if today they perceive a decline in the quality of the postal service (see delivery every other day) and they foresee the risk that, little by little, Poste Italiane will go in a direction that is not the one contained in its DNA, that is, it will become more and more a Bank. Tomorrow, if and when the sale of that additional share of shares owned by the MEF on the market will materialize, these elements will begin to take shape, concretely and unpleasantly.
Who has an interest and convenience, in fact, in delivering mail to Gorino rather than in the villages perched on our Alps and Apennines? How many of those individuals, who are part of the banking and financial world, once they become owners (even if only in part) and within the governance of Poste will try to use, like a Trojan horse, the good name or, if you prefer, the "brand" of Poste Italiane to "disseminate" certain products that today circulate only in banks?
Poste Italiane is the largest service company in our country which, once it assumed the status of SpA (1998), continued to provide the universal service, and much more, without weighing in the slightest on the pockets of citizens.
Since this is a practically healthy company that for years has been providing significant profits to the State shareholder (first the sole shareholder, then the majority shareholder), the reasons for its sale, or rather, the sell-off, are not understood.
Is this perhaps a fundamental operation for the public debt? Do you really think that a little more than 2 billion euros, which could be collected from the further sale of shares, would be relevant in the face of the enormous Italian public debt?
So what? I don't want to answer these questions for fear of being accused of playing political fantasy, but I'll just say: let's avoid repeating the Telecom mistake, let's avoid the postal disasters that have already occurred in other countries, let's avoid Poste abandoning the social role it has always played, let's avoid, in all ways, this outrage!
For the reasons and considerations set out above, I appeal to all the political forces of Ferrara, especially those who sit in Parliament, to express themselves, take an official position and let the citizens know what they think of this privatization that would put an end to 160 years of Postal history and that will certainly put at risk many jobs and a whole series of benefits for the citizens themselves who, tomorrow, could wake up with one more bank (and I don't think there's any need for it) and many fewer post offices.
Ferrara, July 27, 2016
