CORRIERE DELLA SERA, LA STAMPA, LA REPUBBLICA (Italy)
ROME– Seven-time Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti died Monday at the age of 94. His political career spanned, and at times dominated, Italian post-War history. He was elected in 1946 to Italy’s provisional parliament, in charge of writing the new Italian constitution, and in 1991 he was made a senator-for-life, reports La Stampa, totaling some 60 years in government.
Andreotti, writes La Repubblica, had lived through two world wars, seven popes, the end of the Italian monarchy, fascism, the so-called First and Second Republics of Italy, not to mention six mafia trials that saw him mostly, but not completely, cleared of the accusations.
His admirers called him “Divo Giulio” — a play on his name with Divus Iulius, used for Julius Caesar — while critics called him Beelzebub for what they considered his infernal tendencies.
There will be no State funeral, nor lying in State, for the longtime politician, according to Corriere della Sera.
Well-known though not always well-liked for his political acumen and ability to obtain and maintain power, Andreotti also possessed a singularly subtle wit. Here are 10 of his most memorable quotes:
“Apart from the Punic Wars, I’ve been held responsible for just about everything.”
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“Clericalism: the habitual confusion between that which is of Caesar, and that of God.”
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Photo by PD-Italy
“Green Party (members) are like watermelons: green on the outside but red on the inside.”
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“If I had been born in a refugee camp in Lebanon, maybe I would also be a terrorist.”
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“The malice of the good is very dangerous.”
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“Power wears out those who don’t have it”
Andreotti (L) with Richard Nixon and Frank Sinatra. Photo by Kightlinger, Jack E.
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“It’s not enough to be right: you need to also have someone who says that you are.”
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l-r: Andreotti, Takeo Fukado, Jimmy Carter, Helmut Schmidt, and Valéry Giscard d’Estaing in 1978. Photo by White House.
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“In politics, sunny days and rainy days can change very quickly.”
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“I love Germany so much that I preferred when there were two.”
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“Never leave traces.”
L’Espresso cover from November 1992, alluding to Andreotti’s alleged ties with the mafia.
