Politicians From Italy

"Renzi is like Grillo, he is the embodiment of political inconsistency serving third-party interests. (October 16 , 2012)"

"Gelmini is the most cynical woman I have met in my life."

"(On Walter Veltroni's candidacy in the Democratic Party primaries) And he would run in the name of what? Of a line with which we have already lost, in one fell swoop, government, alliances and elections?"

"(Responding to Silvio Berlusconi's provocation: ‘She is more beautiful than intelligent’) Evidently I am a woman who is not at his disposal."

"It is better for a child to stay in Africa than to be adopted by same-sex couples."

"Le Iene [TV program] are a bit of a cheat, but if my colleagues didn't use drugs, it wouldn't show."

"I don't think that struggle becomes political in relation to the number of workers; it becomes political depending on its content."

"(Concernong the Renzi governement) Government decisions are made without consulting other organisations, even though consultation is, after all, a form of exchange."

"Trade unions and employers collaborate in full autonomy. In an advanced capitalist society, there remains and must remain a dialectical relationship that has moments of conflict."

"(About [[w:Luigi di Maio|Luigi Di Maio]+ and his request of reforming Italian trade unions) Di Maio's recent outburst, with his inconceivable threat directed above all at confederal trade unionism, a threat that includes the intention to reform it authoritatively if he ever makes it to Palazzo Chigi, is certainly indicative of the limits of the ‘Five Star’ leader. [...] Di Maio was the latest in a long line of people to talk nonsense about trade unions."

"[...] there is the particularly serious problem of employment in Italy. The indisputable fact that must be acknowledged is that the blanket of available work is too small. If it covers the over-50s, it leaves young people exposed. And vice versa. Collective bargaining must therefore address, in every possible way, the distribution of available work."

"Luciano Lama was secretary general of the CGIL trade union at a time when terrorism was a particularly aggressive cancer in Italian society. He had the merit and great courage – together with others – to take the CGIL against political violence and terrorism. He was a true moral authority in this country, a role that – ungenerously – was not fully recognised."

"If Cofferati had continued with reformism, he probably would not have brought three million people onto the streets, but he would have positioned himself as a point of reference for broader political alliances."

"I am very fond of Sergio Cofferati. He is the Italian trade unionist with whom I felt most in tune when I was a minister. [...] He is contradictory, he has not been consistent with what he thought and what I believe he still thinks."

"It was impossible to socialise or joke with him. Cofferati is the trade unionist with whom I have had the most difficult personal relationship. [...] In truth, he immediately withdrew from the national competition. He chose not to be defeated and to start over."

"Cofferati didn't do what he was supposed to do. I had even bet the newspaper on him. He was the new leader of the left and he backed out. He disappointed millions of people."

"[...] the devastation of the headquarters of Italy's most important trade union is seen by workers and people as a tearing apart of their identity, of who they are, of their values. It is a deep wound, not defined by the extent of the damage, which is irrelevant. Wanting to deface a historic organisation such as the CGIL means crossing the threshold of alarm."

"[...] without places and subjects of mediation, conflict increases. The stronger the trade unions, the less conflict there is. The more deeply rooted a party is, the better it manages its relationship with the electorate."

"While political representation is becoming increasingly rare because parties are becoming lighter, even fluid, according to some, resorting to the streets on major issues is becoming almost a necessary outlet for voters who no longer have places and tools through which to express their opinions. Interviewer: You mean that without mass parties, the only option left is the streets? Cofferati: The streets become the main place where people can express their ideas. Interviewer: But isn't there a risk that protest will have no effect? That it will become a mere outlet? Cofferati: That wouldn't be a bad thing or a cause for concern. A demonstration can also bring about change."

"(On the Renzi government) I think it is a centre-left government that produces policies that are unacceptable to some of its voters."

"This government does not merely want to break up the trade union movement, it wants to change its very nature. It began by saying that the CGIL is not a trade union but a political force: ridiculous!"

"Interviewer: 'What do you think when they accuse you of wanting to strike against Marco Biagi's ideas? Cofferati: I don't think anything. It's a statement that offends me."

"Luciano Lama was secretary general of the CGIL trade union at a time when terrorism was a particularly aggressive cancer in Italian society. He had the merit and great courage – together with others – to take the CGIL against political violence and terrorism. He was a true moral authority in this country, a role that, unfairly, was not fully recognised."

"I consider this accusation not only unfounded but also offensive to this organisation and its history. The Italian trade union is an enemy of terrorists and is considered by them, not surprisingly, as one of the targets to be explicitly fought. The reason is easy to understand for those who want to see it. The CGIL, and other trade union and social organisations, fought to eradicate terrorism from Italian society, even when terrorism was strongest and most deeply rooted in society. When it tried to penetrate the world of work to gain cover and influence behaviour. It would not have been defeated in the 1970s and 1980s if there had not been a clear and unhesitating decision by the trade union to confront terrorism and violence head-on."

"Interviewer: The CGIL and its secretary are accused of having political motives. Of wanting to ally themselves with judges and the ‘girotondi’ (protesters). Cofferati: These are unacceptable accusations. I contest choices that I believe to be wrong on their merits; they continue to say that the CGIL is not doing its job as a trade union, that we have a political strategy. The right to criticise cannot be demonised. And there is a misguided underestimation of the role of social representative organisations. The government has a duty to pursue its objectives, but it must know that if part of the social representation does not share these objectives, a break and then conflict are inevitable. I would never dream of contesting their legitimacy to govern, but they cannot contest the legitimacy of my right to oppose them with the rules of democracy and a practice established over many decades."

"[...] for the first time, an executive has proposed changes to the rights system, with an economic and social policy that is explicitly hostile to the ideas and proposals of the trade unions. Article 18 has become the symbolic reference point for all this. There is conflict, but there is nothing more ‘orderly’ than the struggles that CGIL-CISL-UIL have waged in recent months. When people talk about a ‘climate of hatred’ – referring to the trade unions – they are making statements that are out of place and have no basis in the reality of Italian society. Some attacks are not only unfounded, but literally disgraceful."

"Even with the murders of Ruffilli, Tarantelli and D'Antona, terrorist madness sought to strike scholars and intellectuals in the service of the state. But this time, Biagi was killed while the confrontation and negotiations in which he was participating in an authoritative capacity were underway. This is a targeted attack on social cohesion policies, but also on the very mechanism by which social dialogue takes place. It is intended to influence the social partners involved in the negotiations. This is another reason why it is important to remain as firm as ever in the fight against terrorism, but also to have the intelligence to quickly restore social dialogue. In its physiological, natural forms: negotiation, the possibility of reaching agreements, or moving on to conflict and struggle if there is disagreement. Terrorism cannot dictate the timing, the merits or the dynamics of the debate. I think it is entirely understandable that the government should confirm its intentions on Article 18. It is equally essential that the trade unions do the same, with a critical assessment of the government's proposals and with struggle and conflict. [...] It is all perfectly normal and natural. There was a confrontation with the government that did not have a positive outcome, there was a breakdown, and the trade unions asserted their reasons with this initiative. Terrorism wants to prevent this natural process. And all those who support this attempt, more or less unconsciously, are making a serious mistake."

"Interviewer: ‘Wasn't it a mistake [...] to claim that Biagi collaborated with both the government and Confindustria?’ Cofferati: In claiming, as I did, that there is collusion between Confindustria and the centre-right government, I expressed a political opinion. Nothing more and nothing less, nothing to do with individuals or relationships with individuals. I was and still am convinced of this. And what I said about Professor Biagi was simply an objective fact: he was the coordinator of the group that drafted the ‘White Paper’ and was also a collaborator of Confindustria. The professor's death affected me deeply; I am not affected by accusations that I consider completely unfounded. I never considered Biagi an adversary: he was a valuable expert."

"It is one thing to reject war, because you do not promote it, encourage it or justify it, but here war is happening: Putin is waging it. We must help those under attack in every way possible, with political and military means. And this is a story we know well. Why do we not look to our past? Would we ever have freed ourselves from the Nazis and the Fascists without the use of arms? Didn't those who helped us in those years also do so with military means? I want peace. I believe in the absolute value of peace and democracy, but when it is under attack, it must be defended by any means necessary. If we do not distinguish between aggressors and the attacked, we risk making wrong and ideologically twisted choices."

"When peace is threatened, it must be defended. The invader must be stopped. In Ukraine, there is a violent, destructive invasion of a defenceless population. Therefore, we must use all the tools that the situation calls for: diplomatic action, economic and financial sanctions against the invader. At the same time, we must help those under attack with relief measures and by strengthening their ability to defend themselves, including through military aid and the supply of weapons."

"Stefano Rodotà is a high-profile candidate who is well placed to represent the country at European and international level. The work and rights that give him dignity, the value of citizenship and the foundations of the Constitution have always been an important part of his culture."

"(On the footballers' protest) You can't idolise a champion on Sunday because he wins your team a match and then forget that maybe the night before he was found drunk and fighting, and then when he and his teammates try to defend the rights of the whole profession, especially the weaker and less wealthy players, they are told they can't because they are rich and spoiled. I would have understood if they had asked for more money, but for the first time they are fighting for rights, not for material reasons: this is something new and should be admired."

"We must be extremely rigorous in prosecuting crimes, and equally rigorous in not allowing crimes to be exploited."

"[...] comics, perhaps out of snobbery, literary superficiality or simple indifference, are always considered second-rate, a pastime for the masses, a poor art form and therefore too often mistreated. Well, I repeat, for me this is a mistaken judgement. Example: Dino Battaglia interpreted great classics from Melville to Maupassant to Rabelais, and his work was truly a unanimously recognised masterpiece, a magnificent work."

"For Luciano Lama, negotiation was at the heart of the trade unionist's job. Sometimes Carniti, then general secretary of the CISL, and I were more inclined to break off negotiations. He would say to us: ‘Breaking off is easy, rebuilding is much more complicated. We must always negotiate. Even if an entrepreneur comes to you and offers you your wife in exchange, as a trade unionist, you must reply: let's discuss it’. A paradox, of course."

"Luciano Lama had a great mentor in Di Vittorio: accompanying him on his numerous trips, he got to know the reality of southern Italy and understood the importance of direct contact with the masses."

"The talented and loyal communist secretary of the CGIL trade union, Luciano Lama, made a mistake when he tried to enter the University of Rome protected by his security detail on 17 February 1977, which inevitably looked like a foreign invasion. But it was not the extreme slogans of madness and violence shouted at him by the Roman Autonomists that defeated him. What defeated him, proving beyond doubt that he was the wrong man in the wrong place, was the slogan scrawled on the university walls by the metropolitan Indians: ‘The Lamas belong in Tibet’. It was not force that forced Lama to give up, but irony."

"(About the entry of Italy in the European Union) Who can forget ‘the line of sacrifice’? I have always thought that it was more disastrous for the movement than the historic compromise itself. It was suicide. Lama may not admit it, but that was a gift that Confindustria could not even have dreamed of."

"He was terrified of divisions within the union. And he theorised autonomy from political parties. Now that political parties no longer exist, this may seem like a dated discussion, but it is not."

"Natta is not Berlinguer, as is only right. I appreciate him for his idea of a secular, non-dogmatic character, free from party schemes and sacred cows."

"(Speech delivered on 16 March 1978, during the general strike following the via Fani ambush) [...] But on this day of mourning, a dramatic moment in the life of our country, we must not allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by emotion. We must oppose inhuman violence with reason and a determined will not to bow to the blackmail of murderers, enemies of democracy and freedom in our country. There is talk of civil war. We have known such things, but in this case we are not faced with the struggle of one part, albeit small, of a people against another part. That is not the case. We are faced with a handful of professional terrorists who are attacking our institutions and our freedoms, we are faced with a small group of murderers who are attacking the institutions of Italian democracy; it is true, however, and we must take advantage of this circumstance to reflect on the reality that around this tiny band of ferocious criminals there is a certain layer of acquiescent, passive people who, if nothing else, are morally disengaged or even sympathise with the criminals, with the terrorists, or who stand by and watch. This is not the time to stand by and watch, friends in Rome. At this moment, in this trial, we cannot stand by passively in the face of the destruction that is being attempted against the institutions, democracy, freedom and fundamental values of civil coexistence that we have won through our struggle."

"[On the 1996 elections] I want to shout out here, from my bed, the simplest and most important lesson I have learned from my experience: never stop seeking solutions through agreement."

"Whether it makes us smile or irritates us, political satire encourages us to look inside ourselves and, more generally, at what is happening in society. [...] In any case, even an ungenerous and disrespectful attack is better than any kind of censorship. We can defend ourselves against the former, but not the latter."

"On the Years of lead) Italy took a big risk during those years... the battle absorbed us completely. As a result, we were unable to see the rest with the necessary clarity."

"[On the referendum on the sliding wage scale] As an activist, I signed, but I am opposed to the CGIL taking a position on the referendum. I do not feel that this is a contradiction."

"As leader of the CISL trade union, he was one of the most powerful trade unionists of the post-war period. He then attempted to rebuild the great Christian Democratic centre. He wandered through a deserted centre, ended up in Berlusconi's unwelcoming right wing and parked himself in Mastella's party."

"I don't know who D'Antoni is. I didn't even know him when he was secretary of the CISL trade union. He's someone I don't trust."

"Prestigiacomo has done important things for women. But she shouldn't be going to all the Forza Italia events as a showgirl."

"(About Marcello Pera) When commemorating the anniversary of Falcone's death, you cannot attack magistrates."

"The only real, systemic law that was right to pass was the Gasparri law. But it should have been done differently and as it was, it should not have been voted for."