Deutsche Bank’s Merger Is Inspired By Freddie Mercury
Europe’s politicians are indulging in a new passion for European and national champions. But it’s a terrible way to prop up weak companies.
Europe’s politicians have been watching a little too much “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Photographer: Fox Photos/Hulton ArchiveEuropean politicians must have been watching a little too much “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the Freddie Mercury biopic. From rail equipment to banks, there seems to be no industry for which you can’t hear them singing “We Are the Champions,” as they insist that antitrust regulators drop their concerns and embrace dirigisme.
First came the failed rail merger between Alstom SA and Siemens AG, which the French and the German governments wanted as a bulwark “European champion” against Chinese rivals. Then we had the manifesto for a new European industrial policy, signed by the same two countries’ economy ministers, advocating laxer rules for mergers within sectors and the right of governments to overrule Brussels sometimes. Finally there was Olaf Scholz, the German finance minister, opening the door to a merger between Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG by supporting a “national champion” that could help German businesses around the world. Chancellor Angela Merkel has been much more lukewarm.