Marco Niada is right to point out that the rise and the fall of Agnelli is a typical Italian saga of our times. In fairness no person or company is eternal and Fiat makes no exception. Efforts of governments to jump start companies in decline result most often in waste of taxpayers' money. Fiat is unlikely to be an exception. However in a labour intensive industry, its employees carry a lot of votes, hence the interest of politicians. Agnelli was, however, special, in that he combined the ruthlessness of a driven leader with the panache of an approachable patrician: 'He could walk with kings (who probably felt intimidated in his presence) and mastered the common touch. It should be pointed out that, in his time, he may have used politicians but never allowed politicians to meddle with Fiat's direction. This is now certain to change.