Marco Follini

thumb|Marco Follini in 2010 Marco Follini (real name Giuseppe Follini, born 26 September 1954) is an Italian politician and journalist. He was National Secretary of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats until 15 October 2005. He was also Vice-Prime Minister of Berlusconi's second government, taking office up to April 2005. Quotes I have adopted the framework of bipolarism and [democracy of] alternation. Obviously, this pattern calls for a different kind of centre-right. However, it requires all of us to work on this front, strengthening the profile of our alternative to a centre-left that risks not paying the price for its contradictions, simply because, instead of focusing on our own transformation, we seem to be engaged in a monotonous repetition of ourselves. Quoted in «Difendo il bipolarismo, non andrò mai con l' Unione», Corriere della sera, 20 April 2005, p. 16. This is not the centre-right of my dreams. And the Prime Minister is not De Gasperi. I have said these things, I have written them, and I have translated them into my party's politics as best I could and as I felt I should. I stand by it. At worst, I'll go home. But I won't go to the left. Quoted in «Difendo il bipolarismo, non andrò mai con l' Unione», Corriere della sera, 20 April 2005, p. 16. None of us, not even those closest to the dividing line, will prop up a shaky majority. The challenge is to prevent the country from faltering. Quoted in Francesco Verderami, «Romano e Silvio? Due sconfitti Servirà una Grande coalizione», Corriere della sera, 18 April 2006, p. 10. I can assure you that the Prime Minister never said to me, 'Come with us.' There are two key reasons for this. The first is that Prodi does not spend his time courting opposition figures. And the second is that I am staying in the opposition. Since there is no misunderstanding about any of this, I would like (and I believe I am also entitled to) ensure that there are no misunderstandings for the readers of La Stampa. Follini: ma Prodi non mi corteggia, La Stampa, 27 July 2006, p. 28. (Following Scilipoti's vote in favour of the Fourth Berlusconi Government) I don't know whether Scilipoti, by voting that way, is Judas. I doubt that, by voting that way earlier, he was Churchill. Quoted in Non è che Scilipoti prima era Churchill, dice Follini, ilpost.it, 14 December 2010. The PD is a great party. It probably has the best leadership team in the country. From Veltroni to D'Alema to Letta. Today, however, the party is held back by uncertainty about its strategy and its identity. The party needs to define a clearer profile for itself, and that profile can only be that of European socialism. It's a noble position, but it's not mine. From an interview to la Repubblica, 5 June 2013. Interviews Amedeo La Mattina, 'Follini: «Sbagliano se pensano che io molli: ripeterò che il centrodestra fa acqua da tutte le parti», La Stampa, 17 October 2005, p. 5</small>I am resigning, but I am not giving up. My political commitment to the centre-right continues. I'm not giving up; I'm not walking out the door of the Margherita. And I don't support Prodi, as some newspapers have written. Once, at Palazzo Chigi, Berlusconi said to me, 'Marco, you hate me. I can tell by the way you look at me.” I replied, 'You're wrong. Personally, I like you, and as a businessman, I've always admired you. The problem is that I don't agree with any of your political views.”<small>From an interview by Aldo Cazzullo, '«Ecco perché ho scelto di sostenere il governo», Corriere della sera, 24 February 2007, p. 5 Our country needs to regain the balance it has lost along the winding path of this rather neurotic alternation of power. Over the past few years, I have always worked, with my limited strength, towards the prospect of renewal, to get us out of the petrified forest that Italian politics is today, so that we do not lose the sense of civility in politics. Interviewer: So, will you vote to support the Prodi government? Follini:It is likely, if the Prime Minister's speech confirms these signals. I'm not acting as a crutch. I don't campaign on that side. I set out objectives that should be part of the shared common sense of all sides. My aim is to shield the government, and therefore politics, from pressure from the most extreme minorities. My aim is to play a part, if I can, in building a new centre-left, and to position this movement more closely to the centre. I have many flaws, but clinging on to power is not one of them. We have a lot in common with Casini. At times, time separates us. Sometimes, my rightness is recognised, albeit posthumously, after a few months or a few days. It's possible that in a few months, or in a few days, I'll run into Casini again; and the thought of it makes me feel relieved. Quotes about Follini. I'm worried about him coming to our area. He will make the centre-left too moderate. Paolo Cento, from an interview by Claudio Sabelli Fioretti, Paolo Cento, Corriere Magazine, quoted in Interviste.sabellifioretti.it, 2 November 2006. External links Follini, Marco Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:Politicians from Italy Category:Journalists from Italy Category:Italian Freemasons