Wednesday, November 20, 2013

The deafening silence around the Cargolux "Informateur"

    My Orchids. Brassavola nodosa. The Gordian Knot. Photo ET

The deafening silence around the Cargolux "Informateur"

Don't get me wrong. That silence is a good thing. It means that the need to rush things as we were made  to believe, isn't there anymore. After all that noise, the silence is deafening, and we can finally listen to our inner heart beat. Here is what the story tells us:

1. Despite rehashing the story in Parliament again and again before the "Neiwalen", the political side still has no good understanding of what an adequate solution would be.

2. The "Informateur" may or may not have made his report to the new coalition partners on Monday of last week, as advertised. Chances are he did not, or we would know from a leak. Actually wouldn't we have gotten some official information the same day?

3. The "Informateur", Mr. Schaus' background at Bain is probably a sign that he will have had a broad investigation into the possibilities, unless his mandate was restricted to the well known short list of contenders for the government's 35% stake in the company. That would be a disappointment.

4. The rush to conclude a deal in October was not credible. And actually the pressure from the European Commission, bearing on the Luxembourg government to sell, should be encountered with benign neglect. Europe violates its big principles and rules every day, such as national budgets spinning out of control, despite the imposed 3% of GDP limitations on deficits. Can't we get a break too? I would think the Cargolux question in that respect underlies the principle of subsidiarity. Luxembourg knows best how to shape Cargolux, remote European apparatchiks don't.  The fact that the Luxembourg government just prolongs holding shares of Cargolux and thereby protects the company and its employees, is difficult to argue with. And certainly is, when considering that in the name of European compliance, Cargolux was pushed into the QR disaster. Just wait. And what about the local interests for a financial participation people keep telling me about? Are they getting ignored?



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