Not knowing much about Italian politics apart from what I read here I wonder why so many people voted for Berlusconi, it sounds like he has a history of wasting taxpayers money and it was fairy obvious that his determination to keep Alitalia in Italian hands would be more money down the drain.

The AF-KLM deal he was so opposed to would have saved the Italian taxpayer a lot of money and was the company's best chance of survival. Just like KLM, Alitalia would have kept their identity and surely that's better for national pride than just a stripped down, mostly domestic Alitalia that's been proposed recently.