COLUMN - Politics to drive car industry restructuring: Paul Taylor

Paul Taylor is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own --

By Paul Taylor

PARIS (Reuters) - From the Soviet-era production lines of Togliatti to the assembly plants of Antwerp or Sicily, politics is driving -- and more often obstructing -- the sorely needed restructuring of the global automobile industry.

Despite chronic production overcapacity, notably in Europe and the United States, politicians of all stripes are deeply reluctant to let a single manufacturer go to the wall.

As a result, alliances of car makers such as Renault-Nissan or Fiat-Chrysler are more likely than outright takeovers or failures. Consolidation is likely to be concentrated in the suppliers sector, where there is less national prestige at stake and less political sensitivity.

Why did the German government commit billions of taxpayers' euros in an election year to rescue stricken car maker Opel while simultaneously refusing to spend less than half as much to save twice as many jobs at fallen retailer Arcandor?

The answer is that heavily unionised workers in the auto sector wield political clout out of proportion to their numbers. Since the industry controls the fate of towns or regions, politicians are deeply reluctant to see car factories close.

The last bastions of the 20th century industrial working class carry the same potent social symbolism as coal miners once did in Britain and Germany, and farmers still do in France.