It is more than a simple U-turn. What the markets are hearing is the screeching of Pirelli tyres as Marco Tronchetti Provera yanks on the handbrake with a sudden change of strategy to avoid crashing into a wall.

Since the dapper Pirelli boss invested many billions of euros to acquire with other partners control of Telecom Italia, he has struggled to convince the markets – and more significantly his financial allies, notably the Benetton clothing family – of the wisdom of his move and his ambitious telecoms convergence strategy.