What the Radicals are. »I could as well say I am a socialist . The farewell to the Communist Party. The youth wants new words, not just political talk.

SUMMARY: Asks the interviewer: "Are you a Radical?" "I could just as well say I am a socialist". Confirms of having been convinced by Pannella "in a few minutes" but admits he doesn't know yet what "behavior or goal" he'll support. He criticizes the communists and thinks he is a "mediocre" politician. He will therefore act according to "intelligence and honesty".

(SECOLO XIX, June 7, 1979)

Leonardo Sciascia, the writer, will be sitting in the Parliament. He has been elected as a House representative for the Radicals, in Milan. He scored 17,270 votes, right after Pannella (who obtained more than 28,000). Sciascia and the Radicals. We joined him in Palermo, at Sellerio bookstore (which is also his publisher) for an interview.

Question: "Sciascia, are you a radical?" Answer: "I don't exactly know what radical means. Yes, I am. I belong to the old Radical Party. I used to vote radical some while ago..."

Q.: "And you still do, I guess..." A.: "Of course. Yes, let's say I am a radical. I could just as well say I am a socialist."

Q.: "But are radicals rightists or leftists?" A.: "I think they are leftists. I am saying this for the same fact that I say I feel a socialist."

Q.: "There is a certain radical image: the one represented by Marco Pannella. How do you see Leonardo Sciascia as a writer nearby Marco Pannella as a famous person?"

A.: "I am getting along quite well with Pannella".

Q.: "Is that true that it took just a few minutes to Pannella to convince you to join the Radicals?"

A.: "Yes: most likely I was already convinced to do so.".

Q.: "You served as a city counsellor in Palermo, in the PCI cartel. Then you left, disappointed by the bad management of everyday activities in the council. How do you think Montecitorio will be like?

A.: "I don't know. This is all completely new to me. What will I do? I'll try to do my best".

Q.: "Do you have any idea on the actions you'll undertake?"

A.: "No. It all depends on what kind of government it will be formed, what policies it will pursue.

Q.: "In an interview with "Nouvel Observateur" you've talked of a "sicilization" of Italy. You've also said: "I hate and despise Sicily just as much as I love her. This feeling can also include the whole country". How will you express this hate-love when sitting in Montecitorio?"

A.: "I don't even think that it is hate-love. It is something I realized while writing "Il giorno della civetta", in 1961. I then saw it gradually come true".

Q.: "What will you do to change this country you don't like?"

A.: "Everything I can. I'm here to give contribution to change".

Q.: "Do you honestly believe in the Radicals' contribution?"

A.: "I believe in the Radicals' contribution just as much as in the socialists' and the communists' contributions".

Q.: "Yet you've reacently criticized communista a lot".

A.: "Of course. There are a lot of thing I don't agree with. Still, the people inside the communist party are very dear to me".

Q.: "In the interview I mentioned before, you said that you considered politics a mediocre activity, for mediocre people. Do you think of yourself as a mediocre politician or a non-political representative?"

A.: "I fear, I'll be a mediocre politician. It's all right by me".

Q.: "What can a mediocre politician do?"

R.: "Can act according to intelligence and honesty. I regard myself as a mediocre politician, not a mediocre individual doing politics".

A.: "What do you think of the Radicals as politicians?"

Q.: "To me they stand for an attempt - nothing more, an attempt - of a different attitude to politics, closer to what the youth wants, who demands new words, of truth not mere political ones..."

Q.: "But doesn't this mean a demise of politics all together?"

A.: "Only of "politicism". Today, I believe, the best politics one can make is a non-politicized politics."

Q.: "You are considered as a man of the Entlightenment. Recently, we have herad of a sort of "religious nostalgia" on your part. What is there to it?"

A.: "Nostalgia is a wrong wrong way to describe it. It is not something new. I've allways been a religious man.".

Q.: "And today?"

A.: "I am. I'm not religious in the istitutional sense, rather in the sense of religiosity, respect for life".

Q.: "Is there anything more you'll like to add in relation to your election?"

A.: "Nothing. I'm very confused. I hope with time I'll sort my ideas out.".