Bersani hints at Italian privatisations Pier Luigi Bersani: 'Disaffection and rage are spreading fast across Italy' The leader of Italy's centre-left and frontrunner to be the country's next prime minister has opened the door to the privatisation of some of Italy's state-owned industrial holdings. But Pier Luigi Bersani explicitly ruled out that a centre-left government would sell its stake in Finmeccanica, Italy's biggest defence company. Speaking to the Financial Times after a rally he held in Avellino on Wednesday night in the southern region of Campania, Mr Bersani said that as prime minister he would think about how to reorganise state-owned holdings, which include stakes in energy groups Eni and Enel. We first need to ensure the operational continuity of these companies. Then, we can think of possible partnership, collaborations, even sales. But selling Finmeccanica is not the key word here," he said. This week Finmeccanica was embroiled in a corruption scandal over a €560m sale of helicopters to India. On Tuesday, the company's then chief executive, Giuseppe Orsi, was arrested. Alessandro Pansa, Finmeccanica's former chief operating and financial officer, was appointed to replace him on Wednesday. The 61-year-old secretary of the Democrats expressed his concern about the impact a string of recent corruption scandals are having on voters" perception of the political class. In addition to Finmeccanica, the judiciary is looking into alleged corruption practices at Eni and Monte dei Paschi di Siena, a bank with long-dated ties to the Democrats. Mr Bersani focused on the recent gains made by the anti-establishment movement, led by the ex-comedian Beppe Grillo. We are not worried because we think Grillo can get more votes than us - he will not. We are worried because disaffection and rage are spreading fast across Italy," Mr Bersani said. This rage has to be conveyed into a serious government for the country. During the rally, the secretary of the Democrats attacked his mainstream adversaries, including the leader of the centre-right, Silvio Berlusconi, and Mario Monti, Italy's technocratic prime minister who heads a centrist coalition. But he spent an unusual amount of time taking on Mr Grillo, likening him to Mr Berlusconi for making unrealistic promises to the electorate and for only choosing loyalists as its candidates to parliament. We are a popular party, then there are populist parties. In populist parties there are always leaders who resemble the piper," he said, in a reference the story of the pied piper of Hamelin who charmed the rats with his flute. "Grillo, you name parliaments, just like Berlusconi," Mr Bersani said. In an attempt to win disaffected votes, the former minister for industry emphasised how a centre-left government would "wage a battle against corruption and a war against criminality." "Rage on its own does not resolve Italy's problems, but nor does a government which brings no changes," he added.