Opel flip-flop typifies U.S. scorn for Europe, says Russian PM
The aftershocks of General Motors’ decision to renege on its deal to sell Opel continue to reverberate, with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin putting a geopolitical spin on his reaction. The reversal, said Putin, is a “scornful” move that will leave Europeans bitter toward U.S. business interests. “We will have to take into account this style of dealing with partners in the future,” he said. GM had planned to sell its European carmaker to a consortium led by Canadian-based Magna, whose purchase was backed by Russia’s Sberbank. The prospective buyers had won political support in Germany and Russia by offering to keep all of Opel’s factories open, preserving badly needed European jobs. But after weeks of negotiations, GM announced earlier this week that it changed its mind, claiming it can make a go of Opel on its own.