SUMMARY: In this speech made at her funeral at Piazza del Pantheon, Pannella recalls Maria Teresa Di Lascia's political career. He recalls the Florence Convention in which he was elected President of the Party and he imposed Maria Teresa Di Lascia as vice-president. Since then, her presence in the party was always a "punctual" (consistent) personal, never a "private" one. He denies that lately they were facing problems in their ability to exchange ideas, in spite of Maria Teresa stubborness in raising serious and important issues, worried as she was about the party's ability to recover once again. Maria Teresa's trust which informed all her collaboration in organizing important marches and initiatives was essential. Now, the party will organize a collection of her best speeches to be re-read and used for further reflection.

(Corriere del sud, Sept. 20, 1994, special issue dedicated to the death of Maria Teresa Di Lascia)

We were introduced at Radical Party conventions and meetings, before actually starting to exchange ideas and know one another. I mainly knew of her efforts in Campania wiyth Geppi Ripa and anna Autorino. In 1981, we were at the peak of a dreamatic campaign-- literally a life and death one, which saw a great growth in the efforts and commitment of the radical party against death by starvation all over the world. At the same time, we had to watch out against the institutional parties' lashing out in their so-called "national unity" campaign aimed at sawing coups. I decided to break a tradition, due to which I refused holding office in the party and I became a candidate for President of the party. I was elected President at the party Convention in Florence. I accepted on the condition that four party members share with me the responsability of leading the party as vice-presidents. The four were Maria Teresa Di Lascia, Giovanni Negri, Gaetano Quagliarello and Francesco Rutelli. Thus, the convention, wit

h its one thousand activists, approved it almost. The criteria for that choice can be best understood today. Those four were selected based on the value of each, their ability to give a face, a voice and strenght to the Party and its political goals and ideas. We can say about Maria Teresa, that since that time her life was the same as that of the Party , without ever stopping or resting. I was always waiting for and eager to listen to her constant, consistent, essential and original comments. They were always very personal, besides being political, but never "private" and she always warned us that "private" means deprivation, not shelter or resources.

Maria Teresa was at the center of some of the largest and most difficult mobilizations of public opinion and activists, such as the marches against world hunger, which were supported by hundreds of mayors and thousands of personalities and so many others, up to the one going on right now to abolish the death penalty on the planet by the year 2000.

I have been asked if she disagreed with the latest "about face" made by the party, or had problems engaging in a dialogue with me. As far as I know, that was absolutely not the case. Yes, she did express concern for our ability to make it against falsifications in image and information about our choices. In the past, and for decades we had been able to miraculously overcome this situation of either clandestinity or distortion of our position to the point of being unrecognizable.

The trust with which she helped and assisted me in these very difficult years and events was equalled only by her originality and autonomy-- thus, she lived mostly through dialogue with others, an endeavor in which she was humble but at the same time conscious of its uniqueness.

Thus, Sergio and many others, saw her as being able to express effectively the life and choices made by the Party and myself, besides being a protagonist of her own growth, consciousness and history.

We will collect all her comments and speeches that have been recorded, thanks to the archive of Radio Radicale, and we will listen to them again and study them. I am sure that her words will ring even more rich and creative, more politically significant in their long lasting meaningfullness. At that point we shall decide how to transmit their value and history.

We have never done this before, for any of us.

From Maria Teresa once again we will have the opposite of an end, that is an end and a new beginning.