«If in 1994 they had told him: “One day you will become leader of Forza Italia”. Maybe he wouldn’t have believed it either », says an old friend of his. To say that Antonio Tajani’s figure can be summed up in one word: «Prudence». Which follows another line: “Antonio has never forgotten that he owes everything to Berlusconi.” Yet prudence and moderation will come later, with maturity. Son of Augusta Nardi, a Latin and Greek teacher, and Raffaele, officer of the Vietri sul Mare Army, Antonio was born in 1953 in Rome and grew up in the Parioli district.
A huge fan of Juventus, he never misses a match, he flew to Cardiff for the Bianconeri’s last Champions League final. In the past he was a fan of Giampiero Boniperti, recently he appreciated Pirlo, Chiellini, Morata and Tévez. But his first love is certainly politics. When he enrolls in the Tasso high school in the capital, the clash between right and left is on fire. Tajani is distinguished by monarchical positions. On leaving school he is beaten by four workers who almost jumped out of a car. After that episode he is forced to change schools. A law degree from Sapienza will follow, a marriage to Brunella with whom he had two children and a journalistic career that will bring him – after a passage to the Weekly and to Gr1 – to the editorial staff of Indro Montanelli’s Giornale. “He was with Montanelli because they were both royalists,” jokes a former colleague. Who adds: «He always brought Sergio Boschiero, another monarchist historian, to the editorial office». He writes about parliamentary politics and is remembered as an assault reporter. To the point that one day on the Transatlantic he receives two slaps from the missino Alfredo Pazzaglia for having written an article with a “Christian Democrat flavour”. It is not known whether this episode represented a watershed.
The fact is that in 1994 Tajani actively participated in the foundation of Forza Italia. He becomes spokesman for the prime minister in the first Berlusconi government. At Palazzo Chigi it will be a short passage: in June 1994 he will be elected to the European Parliament where he will remain – with the parenthesis as candidate for mayor of Rome in 2001, defeated by Walter Veltroni – for 29 years in a row. An anomaly for an Italian, An anomaly for an Italian, because Strasbourg has always been a place of passage. And instead it will be his luck. “It was an investment by Berlusconi,” some argue. If the Cavaliere raised controversies, Tajani mended with Martin Schultz, maintained relations between the Cdu and Forza Italia and smoothed out the corners in the days of tensions with Angela Merkel. As European Commissioner for Industry, he dissuades an American company, Tenneco, determined to close its suspension factory in Spain with 210 workers. It happens in Gijon, Asturias, and there is a street named after it
his.
As president of the European Parliament he stands out for his moderation. He is appreciated by the leaders of the EPP and is the director of the election of Roberta Metsola at the top of the European Assembly. It’s in Rome? Always one step back, never overexposed. He was not a dauphin of the Knight. But certainly the latter trusted him. Giorgia Meloni is aware of all this, who holds onto him tightly. Also because Antonio has now become the leader of FI. If, only in time, we’ll find out soon.