Italy’s centre-left government, defeated at the polls this week by Silvio Berlusconi, has agreed to help the prime minister-elect out of an immediate crisis by lending more money to Alitalia, the near-bankrupt flag carrier.

Rome will lend Alitalia €100m ($157m) to €150m at commercial rates, enough to keep the lossmaking airline afloat until the end of May, a government insider said.