When did you children learn that Andreotti was Andreotti? The answer is one of the direct ones, framed by a gentle laugh between the sly and the relaxed. “We were born, practically, that Andreotti was Andreotti. I am from ’52 and he was the undersecretary to the presidency of a certain De Gasperi for 5 years and then of Pella, in ’53”. Stefano speaks: manager of a multinational for 40 years, the lightning-fast and lucid irony of his father, the calm joviality of those who, even as a son, have seen so many that there is little that can really upset him. “Do you think – he continues – that once, to my sister Serena who is two years younger than me – around ’59 -’60 – at school they asked:” What is your father’s job? “And she said:” My father is a minister “. Because for us, since we were children, it was normal to think so”. Stefano is the third son of the seven times Prime Minister and 27 times minister, of the one who was seen as the incarnation of the unchanging power of the DC, Beelzebub, the Divo Giulio, the man of secrets, protagonist (later declared innocent) of a long and disturbing trial even for the mafia. What was his father like inside the walls of the house, with you children? “It was the absolute opposite of severity, it was bonhomie in person. You think he hated smoking, but we all smoked and he bought us cigarettes. He believed that” if I forbid you something, it doesn’t work. ” he never imposed anything: yet, I did some bullshit and so did my brothers “. His mother, however, did not have the same attitude. “And in fact my father had entrusted my mother with the task of daily education: and she made us study, followed us step by step. This does not mean that, even with a reduced physical presence, my father was equally a very attentive presence. completely, how shall I say ?, doting on his grandchildren. He did things he would never have for us …
When did you children know that Was Andreotti Andreotti?
The answer is one of the direct ones, framed by a gentle laugh between the sly and the relaxed. “We were born, practically, that Andreotti was Andreotti. I am from ’52 and he was the undersecretary to the presidency of a certain De Gasperi for 5 years and then of Pella, in ’53”.
IS Stefano to speak: manager for 40 years of a multinational, the lightning-fast and lucid irony of the father, the quiet joviality of those who, even as a son, have seen so many that there is little that can really upset him. “Do you think – he continues – that once, to my sister Serena who is two years younger than me – around ’59 -’60 – at school they asked:” What is your father’s job? “And she said:” My father does the minister“. Because for us, since we were children, it was normal to think so. “Stefano is the third son of seven times Prime Minister and 27 times minister, of the one who has been seen as the incarnation of the immutable power of the DC, Beelzebub, the Divo Giulio, the man of secrets, protagonist (later declared innocent) of a long and disturbing trial even for the mafia.
What was his father like inside the walls of the house, with you children?
“It was the absolute opposite of severity, it was bonhomie in person. Do you think he hated smoking, but we all smoked and he bought us cigarettes. He believed that “if I forbid you something, it doesn’t work”. In short, he never imposed anything on us: yet, I did some bullshit and my brothers too “.
His mother, however, did not have the same attitude.
“And in fact my father had entrusted my mother with the task of daily education: and she made us study, followed us step by step. This does not mean that, even with a reduced physical presence, my father was equally a very attentive presence. completely, how shall I say ?, doting on his grandchildren. He did things for us he would never have imagined. “
The Andreotti grandfather is an unprecedented one: you reveal a weakness to us.
“Once my sister Serena had a little girl who collected the Smurfs and my niece couldn’t find one of these puppets. Well, my father moved I don’t know who to be able to recover it from an importer in the North: he was crazy as if he were a affair of state “.
It reveals an intimate Andreotti that you do not expect.
“There is this idea of representing him dark, black, gloomy, when he was a very open person and whoever knew him knows it”.
In fact, his sharp jokes have become legendary.
“He said and did it with enormous ease. Even in the family: he made fun of his mother, he made lines from behind.”
“Power wears out those who don’t have it” is a bit the quintessence of andreottism?
(Smiles) “If we had the royalties for that, we would be richer than the owner of Amazon. In reality, some jokes aren’t even his: like ‘thinking badly makes you sin, but often you get it right’.”
Andreotti and the Power. What was it for his father?
“It was something he absolutely liked: this is clear. Holding public office undoubtedly satisfied him and perhaps, he said, ‘I even tripped someone’ to get them. Like other Christian Democrat horses they did them to him. power for him was not an end in itself, it was a means. So much so that when they asked him ‘what would you do if you had absolute power?’, he replied: ‘I would certainly do a series of stupid things.’ a generation that has had an obsession with Fascism, even after its end “.
What were the relationships with the other DC horses?
“With Amintore Fanfani, even reading the Diaries, we understand that they often caught each other: two strong characters, even from two different generations. With Moro they knew each other well from the time of the Fuci, they did not always have a common vision. But between 1976 and the ’78 was really Moro to want my father to lead governments with the Communists. Perhaps it guaranteed him to keep the Vatican and, above all, America quiet enough. “
What kind of relationship did you have with the Communists?
“The politicians have been in alternating phases, even of bitter confrontation. The personal ones were excellent. He had an extraordinary relationship with Giancarlo Pajetta, the most fuming of the Communists: they often met at dinner and talked about everything, my father considered him a dear friend . The relations with Gerardo Chiaromonte and Tonino Tatò were also intense and close. With Giorgio Napolitano he was always equally in exceptional relations: the former president was, among other things, hyper-grateful to him because it was my father who gave him the visa. that opened the doors of the United States to him in the 1970s. It was the first time of a Communist leader. But even with Enrico Berlinguer there was mutual fairness and cordiality. We found a letter from the PCI secretary’s stepmother to my father in which the lady, after the tragic death of Padua, testifies to the great esteem that Berlinguer had towards Andreotti. Of course, with the leaders of the party that came later, the PDS, things are go differently “.
His father’s joke about the famous trip to China circulated about Bettino Craxi: ‘I went to China with Craxi and his loved ones’.
“Yes, as there was also Craxi’s, according to which sooner or later even foxes end up in furs. A joke that had an amusing following. The office that my father had in San Lorenzo in Lucina had been the headquarters of a One day Craxi went to see him and first of all my father said: “See Bettino, foxes end up in furs but they are still alive.” For sure Andreotti, in the dark years for both of them, still tried to get him back to Italy to be treated . But there was little he could do. “
Power was, in the Andreottian version, also the maniacal care of the boarding school.
“I’ll tell you an enlightening episode: it was 1991 and he was leaving for Saudi Arabia. Ambassador Riccardo Sessa, a close collaborator of his, told him that they were looking for him at the Quirinale. He got off the plane and went to talk to Francesco Cossiga , who informed him of his nomination as senator for life. He returned in the black plane, angry. Sessa asked him: “President, what happened?”. “Terrible news, Cossiga wants me to be a senator for life.” And Sessa: “But it’s a beautiful thing. “And he:” It’s a life that I live for my electorate. How can I quit. “In short, his constituents were his lifeblood.”
Around his father were characters who also entered political mythology: one for all, the multifaceted undersecretary Franco Evangelisti.
“He was a bit of a factotum: he came from the young Christian Democrats of Alatri in the province of Frosinone and he could never have been number one, but he was a person with a thousand relationships. He knew everyone and mediated “.
The man of the “mo ‘te spiego er becraund”.
“Also of the” to Fra ‘that you need “”.
Beginning of the nineties: the failure to be elected to the Quirinale is followed by the dark years of the Mafia accusations, a sort of damnatio memoriae in life.
“When it all begins, from the human point of view, my father was a finished man: he never left the house, he was mixed up with the crap they had given him to sleep and stay calm, he did nothing. A physical and civil death. Then, he had the strength to react. He did so thanks to people who were close to him, starting with his family, but also to people for whom he had a great veneration. Two in particular: Mother Teresa of Calcutta and John Paul II . Mother Teresa also went to see him at his studio and there was a nice little curtain with the secretary “.
Tell us about it.
“Basically, the secretary did not recognize her and did not want to let her in because she had no appointment. Mother Teresa was certainly very close to him. But, besides the people and the family, faith was his ally: a true faith that has had until the end and which led him to say: “This happens to me because I have had so much from life” “.
We know the end of the trials, but we do not have an answer on the origin of the judicial inquiries. What idea had his father had?
“He was hyper-convinced and remained so until his death that the operation was born in the United States, in certain circles, because on the one hand he had taken positions, as did Craxi, not always shared overseas: remember Sigonella, his pro-Arabism, the relations with Gaddafi. On the other hand, after the fall of the Wall, the Americans did not all look favorably on a strong Europe and an equally authoritative Italy within this Europe. first of all within the PDS, who have put their load “.
Who does it refer to?
“The name or names have been mentioned many times. And, not surprisingly, poor Chiaromonte, before dying, went to see my father and expressly told him:” Giulio, be careful that they are preparing your package “”.
We close with another passion of his father: cinema.
“He loved cinema terribly, he loved Totò, Anna Magnani. He was a great friend of Federico Fellini: we found a letter of wishes from the director in which he portrays my father as the Pope who gives him the blessing. He had excellent relations with Sordi, Monica Vitti, Gassman, De Sica, Rossellini, just to name a few “.
A love that also led him to act with Sordi.
“It happened that Sordi asked Fellini to be a passenger in the Tassinaro and the director said:” I don’t think about it for anything. “” But there is also Andreotti “, Sordi said.” No, yes, oh well – the skeptical rejoinder – So let’s do one thing: if Andreotti is there, I’ll be there too “. And so it went”.
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