Beginning as a protégé ofAlcide De Gasperi, Andreotti achieved cabinet rank at a young age and occupied all the major offices of the state over the course of a 40-year political career, being seen as a reassuring figure by the civil service, the business community, and the Vatican. Domestically, he containedinflation following the1973 oil crisis, founded theNational Healthcare Service (Sistema Sanitario Nazionale) and combatedterrorism during theYears of Lead. In foreign policy, he guided Italy'sEuropean Union integration and established closer relations with the Arab world. Admirers of Andreotti saw him as having mediated political and social contradictions, enabling the transformation of a substantially rural country into the world's fifth-largest economy. Critics said he had done nothing to challenge a system of patronage that had led to pervasive corruption. Andreotti staunchly supported the Vatican and a capitalist structure and opposed theItalian Communist Party. Following the popular Italian sentiment of the time, he supported the development of a strong European community playing host toneoliberal economics. He was not opposed to the implementation of theEuropean Social Fund and theEuropean Regional Development Fund in building the European economy.[7]
At the height of his career as a statesman, Andreotti was subjected to criminal prosecutions and charged with colluding withCosa Nostra. Courts managed to prove that he was undoubtedly linked with them until 1980; however, the case was closed due to paststatutes of limitations.[8] The most sensational allegation came from prosecutors inPerugia, who charged him with ordering the murder of a journalist. He was found guilty at trial, which led to complaints that the justice system had "gone mad". After being acquitted of all charges, in part due to statute-barred limitations,[8] Andreotti remarked: "Apart from thePunic Wars, for which I was too young, I have been blamed for everything that's happened in Italy."[9]
Andreotti, the youngest of three children, was born on 14 January 1919 inRome.[10] His father, who died when Giulio was two, was a primary school teacher fromSegni, a small town inLazio; after a few years his sister Elena also died. Andreotti attended theLiceo Torquato Tasso in Rome and graduated in law at theUniversity of Rome, with a mark of 110/110.[11]
Andreotti showed some ferocity as a youth, once stubbing out a littaper in the eye of anotheraltar boy who was ridiculing him. His mother was described as not very affectionate. An aunt is said to have advised him to remember that few things in life are important and never to over-dramatise difficulties. As an adult, he was described as having a somewhat unusual demeanour for an Italian politician, being mild-mannered and unassuming. Andreotti did not use his influence to advance his children to prominence, despite being widely considered the most powerful person in the country for decades. "See all, tolerate much, and correct one thing at a time" was a quote that emphasised what has been called his "art of the possible" view of politics.[12]
Andreotti was known for his discretion and retentive memory, and also a sense of humour,[3] often placing things in perspective with a sardonic quip.[13][14][15] Andreotti's personal support within the Christian Democrats was limited, but he could see where the mutual advantage for apparently conflicting interests lay and put himself at the centre of events as mediator.[16] Though not a physically imposing man, Andreotti navigated political waters through conversational skill.[17]
In 1938, while researching the papal navy in the Vatican library, he metAlcide De Gasperi, who had been given sanctuary by the Pope. De Gasperi asked Andreotti if he had nothing better to do with his time, inspiring him to become politically active. Speaking of De Gasperi, Andreotti said, "He taught us to search for compromise, to mediate."[18][13]
In July 1939, whileAldo Moro was president of FUCI,[19] Andreotti became director of its magazineAzione Fucina. In 1942, when Moro was enrolled in the Italian Army, Andreotti succeeded him as president of FUCI, a position he held until 1944. During his early years, Andreotti suffered violentmigraines that forced him to make use of psychoactive drugs sporadically andopiates.[20] DuringWorld War II, Andreotti wrote for theRivista del Lavoro, a fascist propaganda publication, but was also a member of the then-clandestine newspaperIl Popolo.
In July 1943, Andreotti contributed, along with Mario Ferrari Aggradi,Paolo Emilio Taviani, Guido Gonella,Giuseppe Capogrossi, Ferruccio Pergolesi,Vittore Branca,Giorgio La Pira,Giuseppe Medici and Moro, to the creation of theCode of Camaldoli, a document planning of economic policy drawn up by members of the Italian Catholic forces. The Code served as inspiration and guideline for economic policy of the future Christian Democrats.[21][22] In 1944, he became a member of the National Council of the newborn Christian Democracy party. After the end of the conflict, he became responsible for the party's youth organisation.[16]
In 1946, Andreotti was elected to theConstituent Assembly of Italy, the provisional parliament which had the task of writing the new Italian constitution. His election was supported byAlcide De Gasperi, founder of the modern DC, of whom Andreotti became a close assistant and advisor; the two politicians became close friends despite their very different characters. However, De Gasperi later described Andreotti as a man "so capable in everything that he could become capable of anything".[15] In 1948, he was elected to the newly formedChamber of Deputies to represent the constituency ofRome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone, which remained his stronghold until the 1990s.
Andreotti began his government career in 1947 when he becameSecretary of the Council of Ministers in the cabinet of his patron De Gasperi. The appointment was also supported byGiovanni Battista Montini, who later would become Pope Paul VI. During the office, Andreotti had wider-ranging responsibilities than many full ministers, which caused some envy.[23] Andreotti's main undertaking was representing the interests ofFrosinone in the province ofLazio.[24]Lazio would continue to serve as Andreotti's geographical base of power later in his political career.[25]
As the state undersecretary in charge of entertainment in 1949, Andreotti established import limits and screen quotas, and provided loans to Italian production firms. The measures aimed to prevent American productions from dominating the market againstNeorealist films, a genre that exhibitors complained lacked stars and was held in low esteem by the public. As he phrased it, there were to be 'Less rags, more legs'. Raunchy comedies and historical dramas with voluptuous toga-clad actresses became the staple of the Italian film industry. The screenplays were vetted to ensure that state funds were not used to prop up commercially unsustainable films, thereby creating a form of preproduction censorship. It was intended that Italian studios use part of their profits for high-quality films;[4]
However,Vittorio De Sica'sUmberto D., which depicted the lonely life of a retired man, could only strike government officials as a dangerous throwback, due to the opening scene featuring police breaking up a demonstration of old pensioners and the ending scene featuring Umberto's aborted suicide attempt. In a public letter to De Sica, Andreotti castigated him for his "wretched service to his fatherland".[26]
In 1952, ahead of local elections in the municipality of Rome, Andreotti gave proof of his diplomatic skills and gained credibility. Andreotti persuaded De Gasperi not to establish a political alliance with the neo-fascistItalian Social Movement, asPope Pius XII asked, to prevent a Communist victory.[27]
As Secretary, Andreotti contributed to the re-formation of theItalian Olympic Committee, which had been disbanded after the fall of the Fascist regime. In 1953, among other things, he promoted the so-called "Andreotti's veto" against foreign football players inItalian Serie A.[28]
After De Gasperi's resignation and retirement in August 1953, Andreotti remained Secretary of the Council under the short-lived premiership ofGiuseppe Pella.[29]
Andreotti during the 1960s
In 1954, Andreotti becameMinister of the Interior in the first government ofAmintore Fanfani. From July 1956 to July 1958, he was appointed Finance Minister in the cabinets ofAntonio Segni andAdone Zoli. In the same period, Andreotti started forming acorrente (unofficial political association, or a faction) within the Christian Democracy party, the largest party in Italy. Hiscorrente was supported by the Roman Catholic right wing. It started its activity with a press campaign accusingPiero Piccioni, son of the deputy national secretary of the DC,Attilio Piccioni, of the murder of fashion modelWilma Montesi atTorvaianica.[30] After the defeat of De Gasperi's old followers in the DC National Council, Andreotti helped another newly formedcorrente, theDorotei, to oust Amintore Fanfani, who was the leader of the left wing of the party, as Prime Minister of Italy and National Secretary of the DC.[31] On 20 November 1958 Andreotti, then Minister of Treasury, was appointed president of the organizing committee of the1960 Summer Olympics to be held in Rome.[32]
In the early 1960s, Andreotti wasMinister of Defence, and was widely considered thede facto leader of the right-wing Christian Democratic opposition to Fanfani and Moro's strategy. In this period, the revelation that the Secret Service had compiled dossiers on virtually every public figure in the country resulted in theSIFAR affair. Andreotti ordered the destruction of the dossiers; but before the destruction, Andreotti provided the documents toLicio Gelli, theVenerable Master of the clandestine lodgePropaganda Due (P2).[33][34]
Andreotti was also involved in thePiano Solo scandal, an envisaged plot for an Italian coup in 1964 requested by the then-President of the Italian RepublicAntonio Segni. It was prepared by the commander of the Carabinieri, Giovanni de Lorenzo, at the beginning of 1964 in close collaboration with the Italian secret service (SIFAR), CIA secret warfare expertVernon Walters,William Harvey, then-chief of the CIA station in Rome, and Renzo Rocca, director of theGladio units within the military secret service SID.[35]
In 1968, Andreotti was appointed leader of the parliamentary group of Christian Democracy, a position he held until 1972.
In 1972, with Andreotti's first term as prime minister began a period when he was often seen as theéminence grise of governments even when not premier. He remained in office in two consecutive centre-right cabinets in 1972 and 1973. His first cabinet failed in obtaining theconfidence vote and he was forced to resign after only 9 days; this government has been the one with the shortest period of fullness of powers in the history of the Italian Republic.[36]
Asnap election was called for May 1972, and Christian Democracy, led by Andreotti's allyArnaldo Forlani, remained stable with around 38% of the votes, as did theCommunist Party, with the same 27% as in1968.[37] Andreotti, supported by secretary Forlani, tried to continue hiscentrist strategy, but his attempt only lasted a year.[38] The cabinet fell due to the withdrawal of the external support of theItalian Republican Party on the matter of local television reform.[39]
Andeotti's approach owed little to a belief that market mechanisms could be left to work without interference. He usedprice controls on essential foodstuffs and various social reforms to reach an understanding with organised labour.
A devout Catholic, Andreotti was on close terms with six successive pontiffs. He occasionally gave theVatican unsolicited advice which was often heeded. He updated the relationship of Roman Catholicism to the Italian state in an accord he presented to parliament. It put the country on a more secular basis: abolishing Roman Catholicism as the state religion, making religious instruction in public schools optional, and having the Church accept Italy's divorce law in 1971. Andreotti opposed legal divorce and abortion, but despite his party's opposition, he couldn't avoid the legalization of abortion in May 1978.[40][41][42]
Andreotti was a strongNATO supporter and was invited to America by the U.S. PresidentRichard Nixon in 1973. A year earlier, he paid an official visit to theSoviet Union, the first one by an Italian Prime Minister in over a decade. During his premiership, Italy opened and developed diplomatic and economic relationships with Arab countries of theMediterranean Basin, and supported business and trade between Italy and theSoviet Union.[43]
After his resignation, Andreotti served asMinister of Defence in the government ofMariano Rumor and asMinister of Budget in the cabinets of Aldo Moro.[44] In 1976, theItalian Socialist Party left the centre-left government of Moro. The ensuinggeneral elections saw the growth of theItalian Communist Party (PCI), and the DC kept only a minimal advantage as the relative majority party in Italy, which was then suffering from an economic crisis and terrorism. After the success of his party, the Communist secretaryEnrico Berlinguer approached DC's left-leaning leaders, Moro and Fanfani, with a proposal to bring forward the so-calledHistoric Compromise, a political pact proposed by Moro which would see a government coalition between DC and PCI for the first time. Andreotti, known as a staunch anti-communist, was called in to lead the first experiment in that direction: his new cabinet, formed in July 1976, included only members of his own Christian Democratic party but had the indirect support of the communists.[45]
Andreotti with G7 leaders at the4th G7 summit in Bonn, 1978
Andreotti's third cabinet was called "the government of the "not-no confidence", because it was externally supported by all the political parties in the Parliament, except for the neo-fascistItalian Social Movement.[46]
On 28 January 1977, theItalian Parliament approved the Land Use Law. On 27 July 1978, the Fair Rent Law was enacted.[47] As premier, Andeotti's urging of fellow leaders in theEuropean Community was influential in the creation of an EU Regional Development Fund, which the south of Italy was to greatly benefit from.[40]
In 1977, Andreotti dealt with an economic crisis by criticising the luxury lifestyle of many Italians and pushing through tough austerity measures. This cabinet fell in January 1978. In March, the crisis was overcome by the intervention of Moro, who proposed a new cabinet, again formed only by DC politicians, but this time with positive confidence votes from the other parties, including the PCI. This cabinet was also chaired by Andreotti and was formed on 16 March 1978.
On the morning of 16 March 1978, the day on which the new Andreotti cabinet was supposed to have undergone aconfidence vote in Parliament, the car of Aldo Moro, then-president of Christian Democracy, was assaulted by a group ofRed Brigades (Italian:Brigate Rosse, or BR) terrorists in Via Fani in Rome. Firing automatic weapons, the terrorists killed Moro's bodyguards (twoCarabinieri in Moro's car and threepolicemen in the following car) and kidnapped him.
During the kidnapping of Moro, Andreotti refused any negotiation with the terrorists. Moro, during his imprisonment, wrote a statement expressing very harsh judgements against Andreotti.[48]
On 9 May 1978, Moro's body was found in the trunk of aRenault 4 in Via Caetani after 55 days of imprisonment, during which he was submitted to a political trial by the so-called "people's court" set up by the Brigate Rosse and the Italian government was asked for an exchange of prisoners. After Moro's death, Andreotti continued as Prime Minister of the "National Solidarity" government with the support of the PCI. Laws approved during his tenure included the Italian National Health Service reform. However, when the PCI asked to participate more directly in the government, Andreotti refused, and the government was dissolved in June 1979. Due also to conflict withBettino Craxi, secretary of theItalian Socialist Party (PSI), the other main party in Italy at the time, Andreotti did not hold any further government position until 1983.
In 1983, Andreotti becameMinister of Foreign Affairs in the first Cabinet of Bettino Craxi, despite the long-lasting personal antagonism between the two men which had occurred earlier on; Craxi was the first Socialist to become Prime Minister of Italy sinceUnification.
The Egyptian airliner carrying the hijackers was intercepted byF-14 Tomcats from theVF-74 "BeDevilers" and theVF-103 "Sluggers" ofCarrier Air Wing 17, based on the aircraft carrierUSS Saratoga,[49] and directed to land atNaval Air Station Sigonella (aNATO air base inSicily) under the orders of U.S. Secretary of DefenseCaspar Weinberger; there, the hijackers were arrested by the ItalianCarabinieri[50] after a disagreement between American and Italian authorities. Prime Minister Bettino Craxi claimed Italian territorial rights over the NATO base.Italian Air Force personnel and Carabinieri lined up facing theUnited States Navy SEALs which had arrived with twoC-141s. Other Carabinieri were sent fromCatania to reinforce the Italians. The US eventually allowed the hijackers to be taken into Italian custody, after receiving assurances that the hijackers would be tried for murder.[51] The other passengers on the plane (including Zaidan) were allowed to continue on to their destination,[52] despite protests by the United States. Egypt demanded an apology from the U.S. for forcing the airplane off course.
The escape of Muhammad Zaidan was the result of a deal made with Yassar Arafat.[53]
As Minister Andreotti encouraged diplomacy between the United States and theSoviet Union and improving Italian links with Arab countries. In this respect he followed a line similar to that of Craxi, with whom he had an otherwise troubled political relationship.[54] The Italian authorities had banned theLion of the Desert war film about theSecond Italo-Senussi War during theItalian colonization of Libya, because, in the words of Andreotti, it was "damaging to the honor of the army".[55]
On 14 April 1986, Andreotti revealed to Libyan Foreign MinisterAbdel Rahman Shalgham that theUnited States would bomb Libya the next day in retaliation for theBerlin disco terrorist attack which had been linked to Libya.[56] As a result of the warning from Italy – a supposed ally of the US – Libya was better prepared for the bombing. Nevertheless, on the following day, Libya fired twoScuds at the Italian island ofLampedusa in retaliation. However, the missiles passed over the island, landed in the sea and caused no damage. As Craxi's relationship with the then-National Secretary of the DC,Ciriaco De Mita, was even worse, Andreotti was instrumental in the creation of the so-called "CAF triangle" (from the initials of the surnames of Craxi, Andreotti and another DC leader,Arnaldo Forlani) opposing De Mita's power.
After Craxi's resignation in 1987, Andreotti remained Minister of Foreign Affairs in the governments ofFanfani and De Mita. In 1989, when De Mita's government fell, Andreotti was appointed as the new prime minister.
On 22 July 1989, Andreotti was sworn in for the third time as prime minister. A turbulent course characterized his government; he decided to stay at the head of government, despite the abandonment of manysocial democratic ministers, after the approval of the norm on TV spots favourable to private TV channels ofSilvio Berlusconi. This choice did not prevent the resurgence of old suspicions and resentments withBettino Craxi, whoseItalian Socialist Party withdrew from their coalition government in 1991.[57] Andreotti would create a new government consisting of Christian Democrats, Socialists, Social Democrats, and Liberals.[57]
In 1990, Andreotti revealed the existence of theOperation Gladio; Gladio was the codename for a clandestineNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) "stay-behind" operation in Italy during theCold War. Its purpose was to prepare for and implement armed resistance in the event of aWarsaw Pact invasion and conquest. Although Gladio specifically refers to the Italian branch of the NATOstay-behind organizations, "Operation Gladio" is used as an informal name for all of them.[58]
During his premiership, Andreotti clashed many times with the President of the RepublicFrancesco Cossiga.
In 1990, Andreotti was involved in getting all parties to agree to a binding timetable for theMaastricht Treaty. The deepEconomic and Monetary Union of the European Union favoured by Italy was opposed by Britain'sMargaret Thatcher, who wanted a system of competition between currencies. Germany had doubts about committing to the project without requiring economic reforms from Italy, which was seen as having various imbalances. As President of the European Council, Andreotti co-opted Germany by making admittance to the single market automatic once the criteria had been met and committing to a rigorous overhaul of Italian public finances. Critics later questioned Andreotti's understanding of the obligation or whether he had ever intended to fulfil it.[59][60]
In 1992, at the end of the legislature, Andreotti resigned from premiership; he was the last Christian Democratic Prime Minister of Italy. The previous year, Cossiga had appointed himSenator for Life. Andreotti was one of the most likely candidates to succeed Cossiga as President of the Republic in the1992 presidential election.
Andreotti and the members of hiscorrente had adopted a strategy of launching his candidature only after effectively quenching all the others. Allegations against him thwarted the strategy; moreover, the election was influenced by the murder of theanti-mafia magistrateGiovanni Falcone inPalermo.
In 1992, an investigation was started inMilan, dubbedMani pulite. It uncovered endemic corruption practices at the highest levels, causing many spectacular (and sometimes controversial) arrests and resignations. After the disappointing result in the1992 general election (29.7%) and two years of mounting scandals (which included several Mafia investigations which notably touched Andreotti), the Christian Democracy party was disbanded in 1994. In the 1990s, most of the politicians prosecuted were acquitted during those investigations, sometimes based on legal formalities or onstatutory time limit rules.
Andreotti joined the PPI of Mino Martinazzoli. In 2001, after the creation ofThe Daisy, Andreotti abandoned the People's Party and joined theEuropean Democracy, a minorChristian democratic[61] political party in Italy, led by Sergio D'Antoni, former leader of theItalian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions. Andreotti immediately became a prominent party member and was widely considered thede facto leader of the movement.
In 2006, Andreotti stood for the Presidency of the Italian Senate, obtaining 156 votes against the 165 ofFranco Marini, former Labour Minister in the last Andreotti Cabinet. On 21 January 2008, he abstained from a vote in the Senate concerning MinisterMassimo D'Alema's report on foreign politics. The abstentions of another life senator,Sergio Pininfarina, and of two Communist senators caused the government to lose the vote. Consequently, Prime MinisterRomano Prodi resigned. On previous occasions, Andreotti had always supported Prodi's government with his vote.
Andreotti came under suspicion because his relatively small faction within the Christian Democrats included SicilianSalvatore Lima. In Sicily, Lima cooperated with aPalermo-based Mafia, which operated below the surface of public life by controlling large numbers of votes to enable mutually beneficial relationships with local politicians. Andreotti said, "But Lima never spoke to me about these things."[64] By the 1980s, the old low-profile Mafia was overthrown by theCorleonesi, an extremely violent faction led by fugitiveSalvatore Riina.[65] Whereas old Mafia bosses had been cautious about violence, Riina's targeting of anti-mafia officials proved ever more counter-productive. The 1982 murders of parliamentarianPio La Torre and Carabinieri generalCarlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa led to theMaxi Trial. Prosecutors, who could not be disciplined or removed except by their self-government board, the CSM, were given increased powers.[66] After January 1992 upholding of the Maxi Trial verdicts as definitive convictions by the supreme court, Riina embarked on a renewed campaign which claimed the lives of the prosecuting magistrates,Giovanni Falcone andPaolo Borsellino, and their police guards. As Riina intended, the assassination of Falcone discredited Andreotti and prevented him from becoming Italy's president. It also led to prosecutors being seen as epitomising civic virtue.[67] In January 1993, Riina was arrested in Palermo.[64][68] In the aftermath of Riina's capture, there were further Mafia bomb outrages that included terror attacks on art galleries and churches, which killed ten among the audience and led to a weakening of rules on the evidence which prosecutors could use to bring charges.[66]
Labelled by Italian media as the "trial of the century", legal action against Andreotti began on 27 March 1993 in Palermo.[69][70] The prosecution accused the former prime minister of "[making] available to the mafia association named Cosa Nostra for the defence of its interests and attainment of its criminal goals, the influence and power coming from his position as the leader of a political faction".[70] Prosecutors said in return for electoral support of Lima and assassination of Andreotti's enemies, he had agreed to protect the Mafia, which had expected him to fix the Maxi Trial. Andreotti's defence was predicated on character attacks against the prosecution's key witnesses, who were themselves involved with the mafia.[70] This created a "his word against theirs" dynamic between a prominent politician and a handful of criminals.[70] The defence said Andreotti had been a long-time politician of national stature, never beholden to Lima; and that far from providing protection, Andreotti had passed many tough anti-mafia laws when in government during the '80s.[71] According to Andreotti's lawyers, the prosecution case was based on conjecture and inference, without any concrete proof of direct involvement by Andreotti. The defence also contended the prosecution relied on the word of mafia turncoats whose evidence had been contradictory. One such informer testified that Riina and Andreotti had met and exchanged a "kiss of honour".[72][73][74] It emerged that the informer had received a US$300,000 "bonus"[72][74] and committed a number of murders while in the witness protection programme.[75][76] Andreotti dismissed the allegation against him as "lies and slander ... the kiss of Riina, mafia summits ... scenes out of a comic horror film".[72]
Andreotti was eventually acquitted on 23 October 1999;[69] however, together with the greater series of corruption cases ofMani pulite, Andreotti's trials marked the purging and renewal of Italy's political system.[69]
Andreotti was tried in Palermo for criminal association until 28 September 1982 and mafia association from 29 September 1982 onwards.[77] While the first-degree sentence, issued on 23 October 1999, acquitted him because the fact did not exist on the basis of article 530, paragraph 2, of the Penal Code,[78] the appeal sentence, issued on 2 May 2003, distinguishing between the facts up to 1980 and those that followed, established that Andreotti "had committed" the "offence of participation in the criminal association" (Cosa Nostra), "concretely recognisable until the spring of 1980", an offence that was "extinguished bystatute of limitations".[79] For facts subsequent to the spring of 1980, Andreotti was acquitted.[79]
Both the prosecution and the defence appealed to theCourt of Cassation, one against the acquittal, and the other to try to obtain an acquittal even on the facts until 1980, instead of a statute of limitations. On 15 October 2004, the Court of Cassation rejected both requests, confirming the statute of limitations for any offence until the spring of 1980 and acquittal for the rest.[80] The grounds for the appeal judgment read (on page 211): "Therefore the appealed sentence ... has recognized the participation in the associative crime not in the reductive terms of mere availability, but in the widest and juridically significant ones of a concrete collaboration." It quotes the opinion of the Court of Appeal and is immediately followed by another sentence of the Court of Cassation: "The reconstruction of single episodes and the evaluation of their consequences were made per comments and interpretations that can also be not shared and against which other ones can be relied on." Suppose the final judgment had arrived by 20 December 2002 (limitation period). In that case, it could have resulted in one of the following two alternative outcomes:
Andreotti could have been convicted based on article 416 of the Penal Code, i.e. the "simple" association, since the aggravated mafia-type association (416-bis of the Penal Code) was introduced in theItalian Penal Code only in 1982, thanks to the rapporteursVirginio Rognoni (DC) andPio La Torre. (PCI).
The defendant could have been acquitted in full with the confirmation of the first instance judgment.
In 2010, the Court of Cassation ruled that Andreotti had slandered a judge who had given testimony by saying the self-governing body of prosecutors and judges should remove him from his position. Andreotti had said that leaving the man as a judge was "like leaving a lighted fuse in the hand of a child".[81]
Contemporaneously with his trial for Mafia association, Andreotti was tried inPerugia with Sicilian Mafia bossGaetano Badalamenti,Massimo Carminati, and others on charges of complicity in the murder of journalistMino Pecorelli.[82] The case was circumstantial and based on the word of Mafia turncoatTommaso Buscetta, who had not originally mentioned the allegation about Andreotti when interviewed byGiovanni Falcone and had recanted it by the time of the trial.[18][83]
Mino Pecorelli was killed in Rome's Prati district with four gunshots, on 20 March 1979. The bullets used to kill him wereGevelot brand, a peculiarly rare type of bullet not easily found on gun markets, legal and clandestine alike. The same kind of bullet was later found in theBanda della Magliana's weapon stock, concealed in the Health Ministry's basement. Investigations targetedMassimo Carminati, member of the far-right organizationNuclei Armati Rivoluzionari (NAR) and of theBanda della Magliana, the head of Propaganda Due,Licio Gelli, Antonio Viezzer, Cristiano Fioravanti andValerio Fioravanti.
On 6 April 1993, Mafiaturncoat Tommaso Buscetta told Palermo prosecutors that he had learnt from his bossGaetano Badalamenti that Pecorelli's murder had been carried out in the interest of Andreotti. TheSalvo cousins, two powerful Sicilian politicians with deep ties to local Mafia families, were also involved in the murder. Buscetta testified that Gaetano Badalamenti told him that the Salvo cousins had commissioned the murder as a favour to Andreotti. Andreotti was allegedly afraid that Pecorelli was about to publish information that could have destroyed his political career. Among the information was the complete memorial ofAldo Moro, which would be published only in 1990 and which Pecorelli had shown to GeneralCarlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa before his death.[84] Dalla Chiesa was also assassinated by Mafia in September 1982.
Andreotti was acquitted along with his co-defendants in 1999.[85] Local prosecutors successfully appealed the acquittal, and there was a retrial, which in 2002 convicted Andreotti and sentenced him to 24 years imprisonment. Italians of all political allegiances denounced the conviction.[86][87] Many failed to understand how the court could convict Andreotti of orchestrating the killing, yet acquit his co-accused, who supposedly had carried out his orders by setting up and committing the murder.[88] The Italian supreme court definitively acquitted Andreotti of the murder in 2003.[40][89]
On 16 April 1945, Andreotti married Livia Danese (1 June 1921 – 29 July 2015)[90] and had two sons and two daughters,Lamberto (born 6 July 1950), Marilena, Stefano and Serena.
Andreotti said the opinion of others was of little consequence to him, and "In any case, a few years from now, no one will remember me."[15] He died inRome on 6 May 2013 after suffering from respiratory problems, at the age of 94.[91] The BBC described him as "one of the most prominent political figures of post-war Italy".[91]The New York Times noted he had "a résumé of signal accomplishments and checkered failings that reads like a history of the republic".[92] TheMayor of Rome,Gianni Alemanno, announced the death, stating that Andreotti was "the most representative politician" Italy had known in its recent history.[93]
Andreotti was accused of participating in a variety of plots. He was alleged to be theéminence grise behind thePropaganda Due Masonic Lodge, a secret association of politicians, civil servants, industrialists, military leaders, heads of the secret service, and prominent journalists conspiring to prevent the Italian Communist Party taking office. This theory posited control of elements ranging from the neo-fascistValerio Fioravanti to Rome gangsters theBanda della Magliana and toOperation Gladio, a clandestine NATO organisation that was intended to fight a Soviet conquest of Europe through an armed resistance movement.
Andreotti was also accused of having a hand in the death ofAldo Moro and terrorist massacres in astrategy of tension aimed at precipitating a coup,[94] as well as banking scandals and various high-profile assassinations.[95][96][97]
Cover of the Italian weeklyPanorama featuring Andreotti
Fictional characters have been influenced by his image as aMachiavellian. A retort that Andreotti made in reply to an inquiry if being in power was wearing him out, "Power wears out those who don't have it", was used in the filmThe Godfather Part III, where a powerful Mafia-linked politician is shown laughing at the comment just before his assassination.[98] He was nicknamedBelzebù (Beelzebub) or "The Devil himself" byBettino Craxi, a political opponent who later fled Italy while sought on corruption charges. Other disparaging nicknames included "The Black Pope" and "TheHunchback" (he had a malformed spine). Although relatively tall for an Italian of his generation, cartoonists sometimes portrayed Andreotti as a hunchback dwarf lurking in the background.[99]
A joke about Andreotti (originally seen in a strip by Stefano Disegni and Massimo Caviglia) had him receiving a phone call from a fellow party member, who pleaded with him to attend judgeGiovanni Falcone's funeral. His friend supposedly begged, "The State must give an answer to the Mafia, and you are one of the top authorities in it!" To which a puzzled Andreotti asked, "Which one do you mean?"
In 2008, Andreotti became the subject ofPaolo Sorrentino's filmIl Divo, which portrayed him as a glib, unsympathetic figure, in whose orbit people tended to meet untimely and unnatural deaths. He reportedly lost his temper when he first saw the film but later joked, "I'm happy for the producer. And I'd be even happier if I had a share of the takings."[15][100]
^Irving, R. E. M. (July 1976). "Italy's Christian Democrats and European Integration".International Affairs.52 (3):400–416.doi:10.2307/2616553.JSTOR2616553.
^abKavanagh, Dennis (1998)."Andreotti, Giulio".A Dictionary of Political Biography. Oxford University Press. p. 14. Archived fromthe original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved31 August 2013.[ISBN missing]
^Crowdus, Gary (Summer 2009). "Exposing the Dark Secrets of Italian Political History: An Interview with Paolo Sorrentino".Cinéaste.34 (3):32–37.JSTOR41691324.
^Torresi, Tiziano (2010).L'altra giovinezza. Gli universitari cattolici dal 1935 al 1940 (in Italian). Assisi: Cittadella editrice.ISBN978-8-83081-032-7. With a preface by Andreotti himself.
^Orfei, Ruggero (1975).Andreotti (in Italian). Milano: Feltrinelli.
^The Turn of Camaldoli , in State and Economy , then resumed with the same intent in Paolo Emilio Taviani, Because the Code of Camaldoli was a turning point in "Civitas", XXXV. July–August 1984.[clarification needed]
^Rinaldi, Marcello; Nervo, Giovanni (2006).Dal welfare state alla welfare society: teologia sociale e azione pastorale di Caritas italiana (in Italian).Cantalupa: Effatà Editrice.ISBN978-88-7402-301-1.
^Forlenza, Rosario (2010). "A Party for the Mezzogiorno: The Christian Democratic Party, Agrarian Reform and the Government of Italy".Contemporary European History.19 (4):331–349.doi:10.1017/S0960777310000263.JSTOR40930577.S2CID153536839.
^Carey, Jane (December 1958). "The Italian Elections of 1958--Unstable Stability in an Unstable World".Political Science Quarterly.73 (4):566–589.doi:10.2307/2146031.JSTOR2146031.
^Bordwell, David; Thompson, Kristin (2010).Film History: An Introduction (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. p. 333.ISBN978-0-07338-613-3.
^Senato Della Repubblica-Camera Dei Deputati, Xii Legislatura, Doc. XXXIV, N. 1, Relazione Del Comitato Parlamentare Per I Servizi Di Informazione E Sicurezza E Per Il Segreto Di Stato, § 4.2 (Report) (in Italian).Appare credibile quanto affermato a suo tempo dall'ingegnere Francesco Siniscalchi e dai dottori Ermenegildo Benedetti e Giovanni Bricchi circa una possibile donazione di fascicoli che l'ex capo del SIFAR Giovanni Allavena avrebbe effettuato a Gelli al momento di aderire alla loggia P2 nel 1967. Negli anni successivi, inoltre, l'adesione alla loggia di pressoché tutti i principali dirigenti del SID rende più che plausibile un travaso informativo da questi ultimi a Gelli.
^Andreotti, Giulio (1994). "Foreign policy in the Italian democracy".Political Science Quarterly.109 (Special Issue 1994):529–537.doi:10.2307/2152618.JSTOR2152618.
^Ferrera, Maurizio; Gualmini, Elisabetta (2004).Rescued by Europe?: Social and Labour Market Reforms in Italy. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. pp. 132–133.ISBN978-9-05356-651-0.
^abMirabella, Julia Grace (5 January 2012). "Scales of Justice: Assessing Italian Criminal Procedure Through the Amanda Knox Trial".Boston University International Law Journal.30 (1). footnote 151.
^John Follain,Vendetta: The Mafia, Judge Falcone, and the Hunt for Justice, p.124
Wilsford, David, ed.Political leaders of contemporary Western Europe: a biographical dictionary (Greenwood, 1995) pp 8–16.
Giuseppe Leone, "Federico II Re di Prussia e Giulio Andreotti – Due modi diversi di concepire la politica", su "Ricorditi di me...", in "Lecco 2000", gennaio 1996.(in Italian)
"Les procès Andreotti en Italie" ("The Andreotti trials in Italy") by Philippe Foro, published by University ofToulouse II,Groupe de recherche sur l'histoire immédiate (Study group on contemporary history)(in French)
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