Rome, Oct. 11 (LaPresse) – “I’ve made my decision: I will not run for re-election in the next general election, after 44 years. I’m leaving Parliament. I believe the time has come to make room for figures who are more in tune with the parties and coalitions that will present themselves to voters. I thank everyone for the trust they have placed in me so far. This is where I stop.” Pier Ferdinando Casini said this in an interview with Corriere della Sera. “I’ve only discussed it with my children. Maria Carolina and Benedetta, the eldest, having heard me say several times that I intended to quit, thought I wasn’t serious this time either. Now, however, reading this interview, they will understand that I’m really stopping. Caterina and Francesco, who have always insisted that I run again, agreed during our last conversation that, yes, the time has come to draw a line.” Looking back, to whom does he feel most indebted? “I have a vivid memory; in my mind, I return to the first day I set foot in Montecitorio as a newly elected member of Parliament: it was a morning in July 1983. Mobile phones did not exist, but members of Parliament had soundproof telephone booths at their disposal. I opened one, went inside, and do you know whom I called? I called my father, Tommaso, who had been provincial secretary of the Christian Democrats. But I could only tell him, ‘I’m here,’ because I immediately burst into tears… The photograph of him standing on the platform alongside Alcide De Gasperi has followed me ever since, on every desk I’ve had.” “The happiest day? When, as Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, I received John Paul II. A man, a saint, who conveyed indescribable feelings to a Christian like me. That said, I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t admit that every day was beautiful, exciting, every day I stood up in the chamber with the feeling that I was being heard at the heart of democracy.” Asked by the interviewer for his assessment of Giorgia Meloni, he replies: “She has demonstrated considerable strength because she has shouldered the entire burden of the coalition. Sometimes, however, in trying to remain consistent, she risks coming across as stubborn.” On Elly Schlein: “She’s stubborn too. And it would be a serious mistake to underestimate her. Many people forget that she can speak to a younger generation that does not conform to traditional politics.” Berlusconi? “The most charismatic. His desire to be liked was so strong that he ended up being liked even by his enemies.” The most underrated politician? “Gianfranco Fini. Without the Fiuggi turning point, there would have been no Giorgia Meloni.” Who was the greatest Christian Democrat? “Fanfani! The man behind the ‘housing plan’ and the presidency of the UN, the friend of Giorgio La Pira and John Fitzgerald Kennedy.” The Communist he admired most? “Giorgio Napolitano. He understood before the others where history was heading.” And the woman, the woman he will never forget? “Nilde Iotti. Capable, despite considerable difficulties, of saying no even to her own party, the PCI.” The saddest day? “When I was called at home and told that Marco Biagi had been killed by the Red Brigades. He was a dear friend of mine. He was a few years older than me, and in the summer he used to come and tutor me in Latin and Greek in Lizzano in Belvedere, the little village below Corno alle Scale where our families used to take us on holiday…”
Politics, Casini: “I’m leaving Parliament, after 44 years I won’t run for re-election”
Rome, Oct. 11 (LaPresse) – “I’ve made my decision: I will not run for re-election in the next general election, after 44 years. I’m leaving Parliament. I believe the time has come to make room for figures who are more in tune with the parties and coalitions that will present themselves to voters. I thank everyone for the trust they have placed in me so far. This is where I stop.” Pier Ferdinando Casini said this in an interview with Corriere della Sera. “I’ve only discussed it with my children. Maria Carolina and Benedetta, the eldest, having heard me say several times that I intended to quit, thought I wasn’t serious this time either. Now, however, reading this interview, they will understand that I’m really stopping. Caterina and Francesco, who have always insisted that I run again, agreed during our last conversation that, yes, the time has come to draw a line.” Looking back, to whom does he feel most indebted? “I have a vivid memory; in my mind, I return to the first day I set foot in Montecitorio as a newly elected member of Parliament: it was a morning in July 1983. Mobile phones did not exist, but members of Parliament had soundproof telephone booths at their disposal. I opened one, went inside, and do you know whom I called? I called my father, Tommaso, who had been provincial secretary of the Christian Democrats. But I could only tell him, ‘I’m here,’ because I immediately burst into tears… The photograph of him standing on the platform alongside Alcide De Gasperi has followed me ever since, on every desk I’ve had.” “The happiest day? When, as Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, I received John Paul II. A man, a saint, who conveyed indescribable feelings to a Christian like me. That said, I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t admit that every day was beautiful, exciting, every day I stood up in the chamber with the feeling that I was being heard at the heart of democracy.” Asked by the interviewer for his assessment of Giorgia Meloni, he replies: “She has demonstrated considerable strength because she has shouldered the entire burden of the coalition. Sometimes, however, in trying to remain consistent, she risks coming across as stubborn.” On Elly Schlein: “She’s stubborn too. And it would be a serious mistake to underestimate her. Many people forget that she can speak to a younger generation that does not conform to traditional politics.” Berlusconi? “The most charismatic. His desire to be liked was so strong that he ended up being liked even by his enemies.” The most underrated politician? “Gianfranco Fini. Without the Fiuggi turning point, there would have been no Giorgia Meloni.” Who was the greatest Christian Democrat? “Fanfani! The man behind the ‘housing plan’ and the presidency of the UN, the friend of Giorgio La Pira and John Fitzgerald Kennedy.” The Communist he admired most? “Giorgio Napolitano. He understood before the others where history was heading.” And the…