SUMMARY: During the last part of the second session of the XXXVI Radical Party Congress (Rome, February 4-8,1993), Emma Bonino is designated as candidate for the PR Secretariat. Emma Bonino declares her impossibility to accept it because, among other things, this candidacy does not have the ability and strength to represent what's new, to provide an immediate perception of the Party "trans-national and trans-party character" . If, on the other hand, the time is not considered ripe yet for a "non-Italian" candidacy, then only one person is able to overcome this preliminary matter: Marco Pannella . The latter writes a letter to the Congress, pointing out that at the moment he does not figure as a regular member of the Party, therefore he cannot become a candidate, also adding that if Emma Bonino believes that I am the only one capable to assure that function, I should admit that my work has been completely unsuccessful and full of mistakes so far . Once again, I rely upon Emma's modesty, one of her dramati

c qualities for the dramatic moments of our lives. She does not have to believe that others could be able to understand better than she can what - in particular moments - the new Party needs and what it can consent to, in case it should survive. . At the end of this confrontation and of the very debate within the Congress, Emma Bonino accepts the candidacy, and she is elected as the Radical Party new Secretary.

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STATEMENT BY EMMA BONINO (1) ABOUT HER CANDIDACY

During two nightly meetings, Marco Pannella (2) presented my candidacy, and in both cases I explained the reasons why I cannot accept it.

I also asked as well as and the others attendees to understand my unavailability and to avoid, to myself and to everybody else, a public speech in the Congress hall.

Last night I thought to easily resolve this situation, by simply not appearing here this morning. As Marco, for instance, has decided to do. But I dropped this option, because it seemed an act of cowardice and a lack of respect toward all the attendees.

And then.... here I am to tell you my reasons.

a) This candidacy feels too obvious, both on the internal and the external levels: therefore, it does not have the ability and strength to represent the new, to give an immediate perception of the Party "trans-national and trans-party character".

b) If we still believe that the time is not ripe yet for another possible candidacy, that is a secretary whose personal history and nationality - different from the Italian one - could represent this trans-national and trans-party Party, then only one person is able to overcome this preliminary obstacle: Marco Pannella.

In order to manage the Party of 30,000 people, including the thousands non-Italians and its productive contradictions, a great capacity of political intuition and creativity is highly needed; only one person, as far as I know, has such a determination to conceive and pursue risky tasks, and this person is Marco.

This is not the typical and disturbing "domine non sum dignus......";

instead, it is my belief of what he is able to perform and create and what others cannot or are not able to do.

c) The alternative to this last candidacy - I know, it's nothing new anyway - is to take the risk of a new member capable of bringing to our Party a precious contribution related to his/her inexperience: his/her estrangement from the so-called historical group, could force us to closely work together with him/her with a renewed enthusiasm to meet the challenge and to help him/her in overcoming all the difficulties likely to occur.

The combination of what said above, warns me from accepting this candidacy, because of responsibility matters. The simple fact of its proposal without having considered those elements, without putting to work our collective creativity, could easily indicate a risky sign of weakness for this superb, even when harsh, Congress.

d) There is also a marginal, but greatly important, element to be considered - related to a sort of psycho- physical conditions. I am not simply talking about my personal discomfort; it is a matter of real exhaustion, of my interior unavailability to even think about the next two years of my life with the same rhythm, tension, and attention of my latest four years.

As the newly approved motion states, we will experience sleepless nights, the next days will be very tense, and - if the Party will not be shut off - we should reasonably foresee for the new secretary two more years of complete dedication to the Party needs, of exclusive commitment to the responsibility of a Party that amounts to at least 30-40,000 people, whose demands will completely wipe out any personal necessity.

This seems like a nightmare. I am not in the conditions - and I don't think is right to pretend it from me - to forecast two more years of this heavy work, without even a short break.

I am not saying I won't be or I won't be there: I am only saying that, for both myself and you all, I cannot carry this responsibility, the weight of which I perceive. It is not that I don't want to carry it: it is that it just smashes and overwhelms me.

e) The rule of a yearly or at the best bi-yearly Secretary has been well conceived, rightly because it avoids to overweight the Party with the personal deficiency limits of the weariness and the addiction experienced by whoever occupies the Secretary "seat" for a long time; that rule is a wise one because it eludes the almost physiological repetition about methods and choices by someone having the main responsibility in the Party for so long: after my 4-years Presidency, wherein I put a great amount of attention, commitment and enthusiasm, the time has come, both for the Party and for myself, for a change in our main positions.

I believe to have said "no" very rarely to proposals by Marco during my life as a "radical", but this time I cannot cope: both politically and personally, I do not think this represents the appropriate decision for what we will be facing in the following months and years.

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LETTER BY MARCO PANNELLA TO THE CONGRESS PRESIDENCY

As I said, before the end of this Congress I will renew my membership to the Radical Party. At the moment I am neither a member nor a candidate for its positions.

I will exert formal responsibilities in the Party management only if needed and if - as I hope but do not believe real - 30,000 Italians will choose to give it a new life, in Italy as well as elsewhere in the world. Only in this case I will come back to offer my contribution, from now until May 15, and only eventually, I repeat eventually, later on.

But a Party is not simply a bunch of people brought together.

Apart from myself, who, by well representing this Party with to his/her strength, love, expertise, trust, achieved throughout many experiences in institutions and places all over the world, thinks that the only person who can assure a great future to this Party, in a natural way and without taking it for granted, could be found in myself as the only one person capable to perform these tasks, I should admit that my work has been completely unsuccessful and full of mistakes so far - with no account of the judgment resulting from Italy and its people, including the not even 3,000 Italians currently members of the Radical Party.

Once again, I rely upon Emma's modesty, one of her dramatic qualities for the dramatic moments of our lives. She does not have to believe that others could be able to understand better than she can what - in particular moments - the new Party needs and what it can consent to, in case it should survive.

The love needed to support any body's intelligence is not easy to perform toward ourselves.

Let her accept the fact that others, including myself, could be able to practice it.

In this way, I could better continue - along with her and for her, for any and everybody, for our Party - to live and grow, to work and hope, to make mistakes, to get back on my feet when falling down, to help whoever should stumble. In Rome, in Sarajevo, in Ouagadougou, anywhere.

Now I will turn off my radio.

(1) BONINO EMMA. (Bra 1948). Secretary of the Radical Party, former member of the European Parliament, as of 1976 member of the Italian Parliament. Among the promoters of the CISA (Information Centre on Sterilization and Abortion) and active militant in the campaign against clandestine abortion. She was tried and acquitted in Florence. Participated in the conduction, on a national and international scale, of the campaign on World Hunger. Among the founding members of "Food and Disarmament International", promoted the circulation of the Manifesto of Nobel Laureates.

(2) PANNELLA MARCO. Pannella Giacinto, known as Marco. (Teramo 1930). Currently President of the Radical Party's Federal Council, which he is one of the founders of. At twenty national university representative of the Liberal Party, at twenty-two President of the UGI, the union of lay university students, at twenty-three President of the UNURI, national union of Italian university students. At twenty-four he advocates, in the context of the students' movement and of the Liberal party, the foundation of the new radical party, which arises in 1954 following the confluence of prestigious intellectuals and minor democratic political groups. He is active in the party, except for a period (1960-1963) in which he is correspondent for "Il Giorno" in Paris, where he established contacts with the Algerian resistance. Back in Italy, he commits himself to the reconstruction of the radical Party, dissolved by its leadership following the advent of the centre-left. Under his indisputable leadership, the party succeeds in

promoting (and winning) relevant civil rights battles, working for the introduction of divorce, conscientious objection, important reforms of family law, etc, in Italy. He struggles for the abrogation of the Concordat between Church and State. Arrested in Sofia in 1968 as he is demonstrating in defence of Czechoslovakia, which has been invaded by Stalin. He opens the party to the newly-born homosexual organizations (FUORI), promotes the formation of the first environmentalist groups. The new radical party organizes difficult campaigns, proposing several referendums (about twenty throughout the years) for the moralization of the country and of politics, against public funds to the parties, against nuclear plants, etc., but in particular for a deep renewal of the administration of justice. Because of these battles, all carried out with strictly nonviolent methods according to the Gandhian model - but Pannella's Gandhi is neither a mystic nor an ideologue; rather, an intransigent and yet flexible politician - h

e has been through trials which he has for the most part won. As of 1976, year in which he first runs for Parliament, he is always elected at the Chamber of Deputies, twice at the Senate, twice at the European Parliament. Several times candidates and local councillor in Rome, Naples, Trieste, Catania, where he carried out exemplary and demonstrative campaigns and initiatives. Whenever necessary, he has resorted to the weapon of the hunger strike, not only in Italy but also in Europe, in particular during the major campaign against world hunger, for which he mobilized one hundred Nobel laureates and preeminent personalities in the fields of science and culture in order to obtain a radical change in the management of the funds allotted to developing countries. On 30 September 1981 he obtains at the European parliament the passage of a resolution in this sense, and after it several other similar laws in the Italian and Belgian Parliament. In January 1987 he runs for President of the European Parliament, obtaini

ng 61 votes. Currently, as the radical party has pledged to no longer compete with its own lists in national elections, he is striving for the creation of a "transnational" cross-party, in view of a federal development of the United States of Europe and with the objective of promoting civil rights throughout the world.