Labour government will be catastrophic for Britain, warns Boots boss

Election of Ed Miliband in May would jeopardise business prospects in the UK, says Italian businessman Stefano Pessina, a man estimated to be worth £7.5  billion 

Stefano Pessina, the driving force behind the $70 billion transatlantic merger of Alliance Boots and Walgreens and one of the country’s largest private sector employers, has warned that a Labour government would be a “catastrophe” for the UK.

In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Mr Pessina warned that Labour’s attitude towards business was “not helpful” for business or the country.

“If they acted as they speak, it would be a catastrophe,” he said of the prospect of a Labour Government coming to power during the next general election.

“The problem is would they act that way or not? One thing is to threaten and to shout but it is completely different to be in charge and to manage the country day-to-day.”

Mr Pessina, whose company has 2,500 shops across the UK, described Labour’s policies towards business as “not helpful for business, not helpful for the country and in the end it probably won’t be helpful for them”.

Stefano Pessina, the driving force behind the $70 billion transatlantic merger of Alliance Boots and Walgreens and one of the country’s largest private sector employers, has warned that a Labour government would be a “catastrophe” for the UK.

In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Mr Pessina warned that Labour’s attitude towards business was “not helpful” for business or the country.

“If they acted as they speak, it would be a catastrophe,” he said of the prospect of a Labour Government coming to power during the next general election.

“The problem is would they act that way or not? One thing is to threaten and to shout but it is completely different to be in charge and to manage the country day-to-day.”

Mr Pessina, whose company has 2,500 shops across the UK, described Labour’s policies towards business as “not helpful for business, not helpful for the country and in the end it probably won’t be helpful for them”.

He said: “Our main business is retail, so it’s a local business to a certain extent. But I believe it would be big mistake for the UK to leave Europe, because the economy will suffer a lot and Europe is by the far most important commercial partner for the UK. It would have been like Scotland leaving the UK.
“These things are not really rationally conceivable today. Business leaders are convinced that the common sense of the British people will drive the right solution, which is staying in Europe.”
However, Mr Pessina expressed concerns about the European economy, saying: “I don’t see many reasons to be happy there.”
He added: “The rigidity of the economy in Europe has not paid back. Now the European Central Bank is coming with this quantitative easing, at a time when the UK is starting to reduce it and the US has abolished it. Is it too late? Maybe yes.”
Mr Pessina also accused Germany of going “too far” by enforcing austerity on countries such as Greece that have struggled to pay their debts.
He said: “It has been necessary at a certain point, probably, but it has gone too far. I have always thought that Germany from time to time forgets that they are what they are because after the war the UK and France decided to give up their big credit to Germany, they forgave the debt. So they became what they became thanks to UK and France.”