The news for Chrysler the first few days of 2009 was especially bleak: despite getting three billion dollars in federal funding, the automaker would have a tough time surviving beyond the first quarter without a second injection of cash. Even though a new Congress has been seated and a new president has taken office, there isn’t any guarantee that politicians will want to help Chrysler out beyond the initial loan amount. Constituents are angry as they see private businesses and public corporations bailed out while struggling to make their own mortgage payments, hold down a job, and pay the bills.

Chrysler recently announced a strategic alliance with Fiat, a deal which could bring as many as seven Fiat and Alfa Romeo models to the US market in exchange for giving Fiat 35% ownership of Chrysler LLC. But it is that foreign ownership of Chrysler which has some unhinged, wondering aloud whether it is right for Congress to support a foreign owned entity as another 19.9% of Chrysler is owned by the German auto firm, Daimler AG.

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