Auf Wiedersehen, shareholders

WHEN it was announced on March 18th, the hostile DM13.6 billion ($8.1 billion) bid by Krupp-Hoesch, a steel firm, for a larger conglomerate, Thyssen, looked a neat fit. Yet, six days later, Krupp withdrew its offer. The failure, caused by political hostility and weak nerves, has been a big blow to the cause of industrial restructuring in Germany, and to the idea that shareholders, rather than politicians, trade unionists and managers, should have the final say in a company's future.