Italy's 5-Star, League plan to halt sale of Alitalia -League economics chief
ROME, May 17 (Reuters) - The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League plan to halt the sale of Italy's insolvent national airline Alitalia (Stuttgart: 2278962.SG - news) , the League's economics chief Claudio Borghi said on Thursday.
A draft obtained by Reuters of the two parties' joint programme intended to be the basis of a coalition government said Alitalia needs to be "relaunched" and that Italy must maintain a "competitive national carrier."
Asked by Reuters if this meant that the parties' plan was that Alitalia should no longer be sold, Borghi replied: "Yes."
The former centre-left government has been seeking a buyer for Alitalia for the last year, but the sale process was delayed as a result of uncertainty over the March 4 election, which ended in a hung parliament. (Reporting By Gavin Jones; editing by Steve Scherer)