Banks, TV, trains. Is there a Germany that is suffering from the ‘colonisation’ of Italy? Beyond migrants

Is there a Germany that is beginning to feel the pinch from Italy? Who knows. There is a hegemony that is often mentioned when discussing the economy in Italy, and that hegemony coincides with a topic that, over the years, has been one of the sovereignists’ favourite talking points: ah, France. ‘Look at it,’ says the collective sovereignist, ‘France – how aggressive it is, how much it wants to infiltrate our economy, how much it wants to gobble up our private savings, how much it wants to take over our banks, how much it wants to take over our companies, how much it wants to stick its nose into business matters that we should have the courage and strength to protect.’’ In recent months, however, Italy – which has always been wary of excessive ownership stakes linked to companies flying the French flag – has found itself in the exact opposite situation: being viewed by the public in another country through the very same lens that Italians do not reserve for French companies. The specific case concerns Germany, where for months Italy has been in the spotlight over issues other than those much discussed in recent days – namely the various clashes over migrants – with Berlin wanting to take a hard line with the so-called ‘Dublin cases’ arriving from Italy, and Italy wanting to take a hard line with the notorious and uncooperative German-flagged NGOs operating in the Mediterranean.

The best-known and most contentious case, in which Italy has found itself in the spotlight, concerns an area where an Italian company has struck a nerve with German nationalists on a particular issue: the banking sector. The story in question is that of Unicredit’s takeover bid for Commerzbank. Today, as you know, the bank led by Andrea Orcel has acquired 49.65 per cent of the voting rights and, although one of the bank’s most important shareholders – namely the government – remains, on paper at least, wary of the takeover, it will be very difficult to avoid the scenario deemed inauspicious by German politicians. Namely, an Italian bank which, by offending German nationalism, buys a German bank.

The second case, less well-known but equally interesting, concerns the world of television. MFE-MediaForEurope, the group controlled by the Berlusconi family, has acquired 75.61 per cent of ProSiebenSat.1, one of the largest private television groups in the German-speaking region, which also operates in Austria and Switzerland. Combining the markets of MFE and ProSieben, the group reaches a potential audience of around 210 million people. A significant Italian business success, but another area where German patriotism has come under pressure. The third story, continuing this theme, concerns one of the world’s most famous Italian entrepreneurs: Aponte. Aponte’s presence in Germany is primarily through MSC. Since 2004, together with Eurogate, it has controlled 50 per cent of the MSC Gate terminal in Bremerhaven, under an agreement extended until 2048. In 2024, MSC acquired a 49.9 per cent stake in HHLA, the operator of the Port of Hamburg and the Metrans rail network, committing to invest in the venture and to bring one million containers there annually from 2031. Another story of Italian success in Germany – yet another small piece of the puzzle that German patriotism finds hard to swallow. To which a fourth example could be added, this time concerning the world of railways. 

This is the story you may already be familiar with. Having introduced competition to Italy, Italo is now attempting to do the same in Germany. It is doing so by preparing to enter the German high-speed rail market from 2028, with a planned investment of 3.6 billion and the purchase of around thirty Siemens trains. The project is backed by MSC and the GIP fund and is initially focusing on the Munich–Berlin and Munich–Dortmund routes, in a market where Deutsche Bahn controls around 95 per cent of long-distance services. Another potential Italian success in Germany, another instance of German patriotism that could be wounded.

The common thread running through these stories – these intertwined narratives that may explain one of the reasons why Germany has, in recent months, sought theatrical ways to show a tough stance towards Italy – is clear. The first point: whilst Italy continues to portray itself as a victim of foreign capital, Germany is discovering that some of its key sectors are increasingly dependent on Italian investment, businesses and managerial expertise. The Germans have realised this – but have the Italians?

The second point: through the ‘colonisation’ of Germany – ‘colonisation’ being the term Italy would have used to describe operations linked to a single country, similar to those carried out by Italian companies in Germany – we might perhaps gain a little more insight into a fact that often escapes the Italian public: our country’s areas of excellence are sometimes recognised more highly abroad than they are in Italy. Thanks to what Italian companies are doing in Germany, there should perhaps be greater awareness that the Italian banking system is a European leader, and this awareness should lead to an obvious conclusion: having stronger banks is both a sign of a country that functions well and a sign of a credit system that can help businesses grow (and not a sign of a ‘milk cow’ from which to extract funds). Thanks to the activities of Italian companies in Germany, there should perhaps be greater awareness of the fact that creating the conditions to strengthen entrepreneurs, to enable them to grow to the point of becoming industrial giants, is not a whim of neoliberal doctrine, but a necessary element to ensure that businesses can compete ever more effectively on a global scale (if Meloni had devoted a tenth of the attention she has given to the issue of migrants to businesses, perhaps Italy would not be held hostage by growth on a ‘telephone prefix’ scale). Thanks to what Italian companies are doing in Germany, we should realise that globalisation – which enables Italian entrepreneurs to become larger than they are perceived to be in Italy – is a source of opportunity, not a vale of tears (and consequently, we should realise that having increasingly European companies is the only way to have more robust, wealthier and more competitive businesses). Thanks to what Italian companies are achieving in Germany, there ought to be greater awareness of the idea that strengthening competition within a country helps to generate innovation, and that innovation helps us to grow, to operate on a global scale, to be stronger on the world stage, to create more jobs, more opportunities and even better wages. Thanks to what Italy, through its entrepreneurs, is managing to achieve in Germany, it is possible to understand what we often fail to appreciate about what Italy is capable of. But observing what is happening in Germany with Italian companies is also useful in reminding us, in future, to handle sovereignist rhetoric with care. If we regard foreign companies – such as French ones – as predatory entities pursuing greater interests, we should not be too surprised if other countries treat Italy in the same way we treat France, reacting in a disorganised manner when our own patriotism is challenged.

Italy’s expansion into Germany, in this sense, is surprising and exciting, but it offers lessons in political realism which may prove useful to Italy itself in the future, in understanding when the defence of the national interest is truly necessary and when, on the other hand, it is merely a defence of sovereignty. Is there a Germany that is beginning to feel the strain of Italy’s presence? Perhaps, beyond the issue of migrants, there is something more – something useful, instructive and crucial – that we need to focus on in order to understand the extent to which a policy of closure breeds toxicity and the extent to which a policy of openness simply creates opportunities.