Airlines and coalmines may not be quite the same thing, yet this week could turn out to be Silvio Berlusconi’s Thatcher moment.

The Italian rightwing prime minister and media tycoon has been desperately trying to keep Alitalia flying. But all his latest salvage efforts for his country’s stricken flag carrier have been blocked by the intransigence of a relatively small group of hardcore unions interested above all in protecting their power and privileges.