New Man in the Quirinale

...He was now free to give the traditionally squabbling Christian Democratic chieftains a complete picture of his machinations, and with it an alternative: They could settle on Cossiga and on him alone, thus regaining the Presidency, or they could produce their usual slate of possibilities and run the risk of turning the election into a disgraceful donnybrook whose uncertain outcome might very well impair Italy's political stability...

...After Pertini left the President's official residence, the Quirinale Palace, on July 8, the country at large lamented the fact that the lovable, indomitable old codger was no longer behind his desk, acting as the self-appointed voice of the nation's conscience...

...His background as a deeply religious, conservative law school professor, coupled with a self-effacing personality, strongly suggests that in the wake of Pertini's inimitable interlude the Presidency is again in the hands of a man who view s himself not as a protagonist but as a very high functionary compelled to "go by the book...

...Pertini is gregarious, warm-hearted, garrulous, informal, temperamental, and impulsive...

...Cossiga is reserved, formal, self-controlled, and laconic...

...cartoonist portrayed a wistful Cossiga looking out the window and sighing, "I had thought of going to Ferrara to the Festival of Unita"—thepolitical, recreational and gastronomic extravaganza organized annually by the Communist Party (PSI) newspaper—"but I am afraid nobody would recognize me...

...Thoseefforts were rewarded by Iheoulcomeof last May's regional and local contests, in which the DC regained first place (see "Red Light for Italy's Communists," NL, June 3-17...

...Moreover, he was prepared to use his great personal prestige as a substitute for the powers the constitution did not grant him...

...Still, onecan hardly help noting that no newspaper editor today would run a banner caption proclaiming, "He Has Already Entered the Romans' Hearts," as the Rome daily Messaggero did very soon after Pertini was sworn in...

...The 88-year-old former President is a survivor of a generation that fought two major wars, experienced the advent, miseries and fall of Mussolini's dictatorship, then founded Italy's democracy...

...Indeed, he was a leader of the Resistance, as he is wont to remind his listeners on the least occasion, while his successor, now 56 years old, was a student in high school at the end of World War II...

...Pertini, despite his friendly relations with Pope John Paul II, takes an old Socialist's negative approach toward religion...

...For one thing, he will almost certainly avoid getting into serious scrapes with the government...

...Yet he must be uncomfortably aware that the aura of "grandpa Sandro" persists in the collective memory...

...Last but not least, Cossiga, a very religious Roman Catholic, can be seen going to mass each morning...

...Nevertheless, the remarkable feature of the July 1985 election was the way Christian Democrat Cossiga became the candidate acceptable to all the other consequential parties, ensuring his selection on the very earliest ballot...

...Noneof this good-natured satire should be mistaken to indicate that the mass media have failed to give Cossiga' s performance of his duties the traditional laudatory coverage...

...GRANDPA SANDRO' STEPS DOWN New Man in the Quirinale bysmorsengallia Rome Every seven years the members of Italy's national legislature, augmented by representatives from each of the regional governing councils, choose a President of the Republic...

...Under the right circumstances he would like to see a Leftist alliance end the DC's four decades of political supremacy...

...Foreign Minister Giulio Andreotti created a sensation by speaking at last year's festival...

...The Communist leaders were flattered and relieved by the DC Secretary's move, because it gave them an opportunity to break out of their current isolation...

...What is missing thus far, however, is the hagio-graphic approach...

...Of course, it is unfair to expect the reserved, formal Cossiga to have achieved the astonishing popularity of his predecessor insuchashort time...

...In addition, Cossiga is a moderate Christian Democrat (DC...

...In his inaugural address he declared quite sincerely that he would be the President of the common people, yet it is virtually certain that his interpretation of the role will be drastically different than Pertini's...

...In a more recent drawing the same Silvio F. Senioallia regularly reports for The New Leader from Italy...

...They reacted in a responsible manner, voicing no objection to a Christian Democrat and indicating their preference for Senate President Francesco Cossiga...

...The operation was a triumph for DC General Secretary Ciriaco De Mita...

...Cossiga praised his predecessor as frequently and lavishly as possible in his early days in office...

...Once De Mita was sure of receiving Socialist and Communist support, the concurrence of the minor parties added psychologically to his strategy...

...Grandpa Sandro built up an image of himself as a man capable of understanding the needs of the country better than ordinary politicians...

...While most of the people generally praised Pertini's unorthodoxy, many constitutional experts feared that his search for extralegal influence might represent a dangerous precedent...

...As a result, De Mita felt the DC was in a position to reclaim the Presidency that it had surrendered to the Socialists in 1978...

...In the preceding Presidential elections, DC senators and deputies had always put together a list of potential candidates, but had never entered the balloting with a single party choice...

...De Mita, deciding to change that procedure, sought to enlist the backing of the Opposition and the minor groupings first...

...Had the electors decided last July to pick a chief of state with a personality as unlike that of the outgoing San-dro Pertini as possible, they could have made no better selection than Francesco Cossiga, the candidate they tapped on the first ballot...

...Personal appeal aside, on the political level Cossiga's elevation was unanimously praised by the media, for his career as president oftheSenate(1983-85) and prime minister (1979-80) convincingly testifies to his competence and unimpeachable character...

...the rapport between the President and the people has not reached the climactic levels of the Per-tini era...

...What kind of President will Cossiga be...

...It is probably fortunate for Italy that Cossiga is very unlikely to follow his predecessor's example in this respect...

...Both are men of high integrity, but besides that precious and ever more unusual asset, they have very little in common...

...A cartoonist for the Rome daily Repubblica caught this sentiment in a drawing showing a rather distraught Cossiga remarking that whenever he returned to the Quirinale he was afraid he might find Pertini back at his old job...

...Following the 1984 European Parliament elections, when for the first time the PCI garnered more votes than the Christian Democrats, De Mita worked hard to refurbish his party's image and galvanize it intoaction...

...Pertini, who kept his ideological leanings under strict control during his Presidency, belongs to the Left wing of the Socialist Party (PSI...

...The story had a happy ending: Cossiga won, De Mita's leadership was strengthened, and the Communists were entitled to stress their contribution to the correct functioning of democratic institutions...

...Although this undoubtedly simplified De Mita's task, he now needed a standard-bearer capable of winning the approval of both the DC's allies and the Communists, without incurring the veto of powerful Christian Democrat factions...

...Prime Minister Bettino Craxi, who like Pertini is a Socialist, gave De Mita an early green light, possibly motivated by the hope that a deal would strengthen his hold on his own office...

...He has a distinguished record as an implacable foe of Fascism and Nazism...

...Secondly, he is not an impulsive, romantic populist and feels no need to be in practically physical touch with the people...