Jump to content

Pier Luigi Bersani

Edit links
From Wikiquote
Pier Luigi Bersani in 2010

Pier Luigi Bersani (born 29 September 1951) is an Italian politician and was Secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), Italy's leading centre-left party, from 2009 to 2013. Bersani was Minister of Industry, Commerce and Craftmanship from 1996 to 1999, President of Emilia-Romagna from 1993 to 1996, Minister of Transport from 1999 to 2001, and Minister of Economic Development from 2006 to 2008.

Quotes

[edit]
  • What's more, reformism must also include elements of radicalism. The environment, equality, peace: why does a reformist always have to have a rifle in their hand? Why should we accept the highest income inequality in  Europe?
  • From an interview by Marco Damilano, Ricomincio dal bis, L'espresso, 4 January 2007.
  • When it comes to the big picture, I also consider myself quite green. [...] For me, the environment is the paradigm for growth, innovation and investment. It is the driving force behind development, and I take issue with those who make it an obstacle. [...] And then there are elements of radicalism that must be part of reformism. The environment, equality, peace: why does a reformist always have to be holding a rifle? Why should we accept the highest income inequality in Europe?
  • L'espresso, n. 1, year LIII, 11 January 2007.
  • Whether it's a law, a procedure for building a road, or any kind of permit, the decision must be made within a set timeframe: it's either a yes or a no. Democracy was invented as a mechanism for making decisions through participation, not for participating regardless of the decisions.
  • la Repubblica, 28 May 2007.
  • An ancient tradition like the crucifix cannot be offensive to anyone. I think that on sensitive issues like this, common sense sometimes ends up being the victim of the law.
  • (About Emmma Bonino She's a woman who defies stereotypes. She's a champion. That's how I see her.
  • la Repubblica, 9 January 2010.
  • I wouldn't want Chávez to emerge after Berlusconi. Either  parliament regains its role, or there will be no freedom for anyone.
  • The left is the idea that, if you look at the world through the eyes of the most vulnerable, you can truly create a better world for everyone [...]. If a few people have too much and too many people have too little, the economy doesn't work, because injustice is bad for the economy. We want a market that works, without monopolies, cartels or dominant positions, but there are some things that cannot be left to the market: health, education and security. Work isn't everything, but only those who have work can say that [...] When faced with a serious health problem, there can be no poor, no rich, no Calabrians, no Lombards, no Moroccans: we do what we can with what we have, but we do it for everyone. A teacher who chases after a child to keep them in school is a hero of our time; undermining the state school system  means stealing the future from the most vulnerable. A country's civilisation is measured by the status of its women: to trample on their dignity is to humiliate a country [...]. There is a way to defend everyone's faith, to safeguard everyone's beliefs, and to recognise everyone's status: this indispensable way is called secularism. To drive a car, which is a public matter, you need a driving licence, which is a private matter; to govern, which is a public matter, you need to be a good person, which is a private matter. Those who consider themselves left-wing or progressive must keep alive the dream of a world at peace, free from hatred and violence, and must fight against the death penalty, torture, any other form of physical or moral oppression, and all forms of illegality: being progressive means fighting the aggression that lives within us – the aggression of the strong against the weak, of men against women, of those who have power against those who do not – and standing up for those who have less strength and less voice. My time is up here, but my list is certainly not finished. Thank you.
  • The Berlusconi government is focused solely on staying in power by any means necessary. It will try to stay afloat by snatching a few votes and spreading poison, such as the rumour that PD leaders are ready to defect to him, thereby revealing the worst side of politics. Anyone who does not want to give in to this drift must take responsibility for not only being against Berlusconi , but for going further.
  • I see that the Terzo Polo has been launched with a certain urgency in order to fend off Berlusconi's siren calls. I understand them; their fear is well-founded. However, if they are aiming to play a role in influencing the centre-right, they will soon have to accept that this is an illusion.Berlusconi doesn't negotiate; he buys.

The very idea of a constrained Berlusconi is an oxymoron.

  • [...] There is a problem that mainly affects us: the primaries for the local elections. They can hinder more open and broader relationships, not only with political parties but also with civil society. And they can introduce elements of division within the PD that are not good for anyone. Therefore, they need to be reformed.
  • (About the Democratic Party) We are a flexible party, but precisely for that reason, we do not break.
  • Berlusconi cannot treat us all like fools, and his attacks on the judiciary are shameful and unacceptable. Compared to Berlusconi, Ben Ali is nothing. We can't expect anything from Berlusconi. We need a groundswell of public opinion, because not all Italians are like him. We need to shake things up, because those people are clinging on like a limpet to a rock.
  • I commit myself and my party to advancing the federalist process, in dialogue with the Lega. Whatever the political developments. Let's look beyond Berlusconi, but let's preserve the pro-autonomy perspective.
  • I believe that, throughout history, there have always been two genuine pro-autonomy forces in this country, albeit with different and even opposing positions: the Democratic Party and the Lega.
  • I don't need anyone to tell me that the Lega is not  racist: I know that for myself. However, saying ‘everyone in their own country’ does not reflect the modern world.
  • I say that the Lega is not racist, but be careful: encouraging certain impulses can lead to racism.
  • From an interview released to La Padania, 15 February 2011. Quoted in ilpost.it, 15 February 2011.
  • If Gelmini were a real minister, instead of bending over backwards to defend Berlusconi, she would have to acknowledge the unacceptable attacks she has made on teachers and the state school system , and she would have to resign.
  • (About Angelino Alfano) But is he the party's secretary or the secretary of the party's leader?
  • If Berlusconi took a step back for every investigation involving him, he would already be in Ancona.
  • Today, Democrats bow their flags (in honour of Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, who led our country through one of its most difficult periods and defended our institutions in the midst of one of our most serious crises. He did so with a determination, a clarity and a composure that are impossible to forget. [...] As Italians and as democrats, we owe him infinite gratitude and have a great duty: not to abandon his battles, and to always remember that ours is the most beautiful constitution in the world.
  • We've all [politicians and journalists] been here for twenty years; it's time to get the hell out of here.
  • [After Silvio Berlusconi's resignation] Today is Italy's day of liberation.
  • [Referring to Silvio Berlusconi] We'll take the jaguar down a peg.
  • From the speech at the European Progressives Convention, Turin, February 2013; available at video.repubblica.it.
  • Either we win or they win; that's how it works – whoever gets there first wins.
  • We want a Europe built on appropriate transfers of sovereignty, with the euro area as its driving force.[20]
  • From a post on the Twitter profile.
  • You'll see in the rules I'll be presenting, if I'm able to present them, Ok?... So, let's say, regarding the new structure of our political system and the safeguards, you'll see strict rules on compatibility, ineligibility and the right to stand for office. For me, the idea is: let's get going again.
  • From the press conference on 23 March 2013 following the first day of consultations; available on radioradicale.it.
  • After the turkey on the roof, the cow in the corridor and the jaguar that needs its stains removed, I'll have completed the zoo in five years (18 February 2013).
  • (Referring to the Renzi government, which put a vote of confidence on the so-called "Italicum") A government does not put its confidence in democracy. A serious precedent is being set. I won't be voting in favour of this confidence motion.
  • From a tweet, 28 April 2015.
  • I'm more liberal than Renzi – there's absolutely no doubt about that.
  • From the TV programme Piazza Pulita, La7, 3 October 2016. Video available on Youtube.com.
  • I support the left that stands for equality, equal dignity and protecting the interests of the most vulnerable. He  [Renzi] will represent the left of opportunities, of excellence, and of whatever else makes a show. I don't believe in it, especially now. Twenty years ago, though, I could believe in it, and I supported it too, because I had a connection to a particular situation, because everyone was benefiting as globalisation took off. Now, how can we fail to see what has happened in society? Let's face the reality, shall we? And I'm on the left in the sense that I can't stand to see such an appalling level of inequality. For me, that's what the left stands for. I'm not saying he's not on the left, but these days, words are being stretched like chewing gum.
  • From the interview with Claudio Cerasa and Lucia Annunziata on the Rai 3 TV programme In 1/2 ora, 19 February 2017. Video available on Raiplay.it.
  • Is creative finance about to be extended to households through the DPEF? After all the securitisation that has gone on over the last few years, Tremonti has already shown he is capable of selling his house to pay for petrol; now he wants to convince Italian families to do the same. If the rumours circulating were indeed included in the DPEF, at least one thing would be clear: once the government's efforts are over, Minister Tremonti would certainly have what it takes to become a door-to-door financial adviser.
  • I say this to all my comrades: don't settle for a pigeon in the hand; let's go and get the turkey.
  • Quoted in Ettore Boffano and Fabrizio D'Esposito, Questione morale: troppi parenti per Renzi&Boschi, Il Fatto Quotidiano, 20 July 2017.
  • Giuseppe Conte is the only possible prime minister at the moment. Anyone who wants to settle accounts with him will have to wait a bit – as they say, they'll have to hold back their orgasm.
  • (About Roberto Vannacci's book Il mondo al contrario) When you read that sort of thing, you think: "Ok, let's dissolve the army, let's dissolve the institutions, and let's set up a huge bar: Bar Italia, right?"

The world's bar for the right side up, not the wrong side up. A place where you can call a homosexual a queer, where you can call a feminist a witch, where you can call a black person a nigger, where you can say to a Jew, "Yes, I understand the Holocaust, but don't overdo it now". That bar would never be empty in Italy, would it! You just have to go to bars. And here, we need to be straightforward, so after all this, I've got one question left, a genuine question I'd like to ask:"'Excuse me, but if you can call a homosexual a freak in that bar, can you also call a general a wanker?"

  • From the speech at the Festa dell'Unità in Ravenna on 1 September 2023; video available on A tutto campo, youtube.com/@PartitoDemocratico, min. 40:31.
[edit]
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia has an article about:
Retrieved from "https://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Pier_Luigi_Bersani&oldid=3926329"