State ownership is often not a good fit for companies. A sad example of this in Germany is state owned Deutsche Bahn, whose investment needs are now being covered indirectly with the help of the formerly state owned Deutsche Telekom. After the Bonn-based group was privatised in the 1990s, the federal government has gradually offloaded more shares, and was recently back in the market.

The purpose set out by the Ministry of Finance for the proceeds from the latest sale of T-Shares by KfW is certainly grist to the mill of privatisation advocates. They have always believed that the state is a poor runner of businesses, and would like to see the state's stake in Telekom, and other federal government shareholdings, reduced to zero.

However, politicians across the board have come to realise that, for a whole range of security reasons, it can make sense to retain some government influence on a company that operates critical infrastructure for the economy and society, via a blocking stake. The interests of some major shareholders might run counter to these security interests.

At Telecom Italia, years of conflict between management and major shareholder Vivendi, and an overwhelming amount of debt, ultimately led to the break-up of the group through the spin-off of the fixed network. The Italian government was forced to redefine its national interest. And the Spanish government has a say at Telefonica. Ultimately the failures of the private sector can once again bring the state onto the scene. However, both success and failure have many causes. State regulation is one.