The other day the chief financial officer of one of Europe’s leading energy groups noted with undisguised glee that his Italian rival Enel was having all sorts of difficulties in absorbing Endesa, the big Spanish utility it acquired last year. “The Italians are not even being allowed into Endesa’s headquarters in Madrid,” he claimed.

This is something of an exaggeration. Fulvio Conti, Enel’s chief executive, does seem to have use of an office in the Endesa building. That said, the takeover is proving far from smooth and the Enel boss needs to resolve what is turning into a brutal conflict with his Spanish partner.