SERGIO MATTARELLA: AN EXAMPLE TO US ALL

Twelfth President of the Italian Republic since February 3rd, 2015, Sergio Mattarella was born on the 23rd of July 1941 and he is eighty years old. Professor of law in Palermo, he was a lawyer and has had very different interests, before taking up the place of the first Italian citizen. His students remember him as tall, grey-haired, really serious, and professional. He was very confidential with them but, through his smile, he made them feel his capacity to offer the highest objectivity and impartiality of judgment. If he hadn’t chosen the career of a politician, he would have carried on the academic career, his real greatest passion; he didn’t seem interested in politics until his brother’s death by the mafia. A recognized and important person for his merits in the fields of culture, work, and social commitment, Mattarella truly believes in the idea of an increasingly united Europe on the international scenery. He was a safe and authoritative reference, close to the problems of ordinary citizens with his calm and respect for institutional roles during his first term, and he will certainly continue to be like this during his second. In fact, he was recently re-elected, according to everyone’s wishes. He wanted to retire, but in the end, he accepted the assignment on January 29th, 2022. Mattarella has guaranteed to the Italians a respected and reliable leader they can rely on, entrusting him uncertainties and hopes, and asking for work, justice, security, equality but above all dignity. That dignity that he totally represents, as it clearly emerged in the speech he has recently given in Parliament: “…Equal social dignity is a cornerstone of just and effective development. (…) Alongside the social dimension of dignity, there is an ethical and cultural meaning that concerns the value of people and involves the whole society “. Excellent head of state, he has promoted the principles of equality, solidarity, justice, and peace in the international field, all values that must prevail in a country as a guarantee of a common good. Sergio Mattarella will always be remembered, for his great commitment and example as an authentic man of democracy.