Italian statesman and prime minister (19837), born in Milan, N Italy. He was active in the Socialist Youth Movement, and joined the Central Committee of the Italian Socialist Party in 1957. A member of the National Executive in 1965, he became deputy secretary (19706), general secretary (1976), and Italy's first Socialist prime minister. He was involved in a major corruption scandal in 1992 which ended his political career.
Bettino Craxi| Prime Minister of Italy | |
|---|---|
|
In office 4 August 1983 – 17 April 1987 |
|
| Preceded by | Amintore Fanfani |
| Succeeded by | Amintore Fanfani |
| Born |
February 24, 1934 Milan, Italy |
| Died |
January 19, 2000 Hammamet, Tunisia |
| Political party | Italian Socialist Party |
Benedetto (Bettino) Craxi (Milan, February 24, 1934 – Hammamet, Tunisia, January 19, 2000) was an Italian politician, Prime Minister of Italy from 1983 to 1987 and head of the Italian Socialist Party from 1976 to 1993.
The diminutive of Benedetto used to be Benito between revolutionary Italian families, as a Spanish reference to Benito Juárez, until Benito Mussolini made it inexpedient to use that form.
Political ascension
He is the second longest-serving Prime Minister in Italy since 1945, after Silvio Berlusconi, and had strong influence in Italian politics throughout the eighties; Craxi had a firm grasp on a party previously troubled by factionalism, and tried to distance it from the communists bringing it closer to Christian Democrats and other parties; his objective was to create an Italian version of Socialist parties like the German SPD or the French Socialist Party. However, the Italian Socialist Party never outgrew the much larger Italian Communist Party, whose highly charismatic leader, Enrico Berlinguer, was a fierce adversary of Craxi's policies throughout the years.
The main dynamic of Italian post-war politics was to find a way to keep the PCI (Partito Comunista Italiano) out of power.
Craxi was precocious and ascended to many levels public office at very early ages. A rare footage of Craxi trying to lay flowers at the tomb of Salvador Allende has been unearthed from RAI's (RAdiotelevisione Italiana) archives. There is also proof that part of Craxi's illegally earned money were personally given by him in secret to Arafat and his organization because of Craxi's sympathy for the Palestinian cause.
On July 16, 1976, Bettino Craxi was elected to the vacant secretary’s position, following years of factional fighting within his party. In particular, he sought and manage to distance his Party away from the communists bringing it closer to Christian Democrats and other center and center-right parties.
During Craxi's tenure as prime minister Italy became the fifth largest industrial nation and gained entry into the G-7 Group of most Industrialised nations. In any case, the victory of the "No" front in the referendum called by the Italian Communist Party was also a major victory for Craxi. Italian national debt skyrocketed during the Craxi era, passing 100% of the gross national product.
The Sigonella Incident
Internationally, Craxi is perhaps best remembered for an incident in October 1985, when he refused the request by US President Ronald Reagan to extradite the hijackers of the cruise ship Achille Lauro. Though the Americans demanded that the Italian authorities extradite Abu Abbas of the PLO, Craxi stood firm on the grounds that the Italian Government had jurisdiction over its own territory, even though it was a joint Italian-NATO base. Craxi's decisive character may have been relevant in this resolution. Craxi first gave the United States Forces permission to detain the terrorists, but he later reneged on the deal, and took the US Special Forces team into custody; Craxi then rejected the US extradition order and let Abu Abbas flee to Yugoslavia. This episode earned Craxi an article in The Economist titled "Europe's strong man" and more tellingly, a standing ovation in the Senate, which included his communist opponents.
Downfall and disgrace
Mani Pulite
The last main turning point of his career began taking place in the early 1990s. Mario Chiesa sought Craxi's protection for nearly a month; but Craxi accused him of casting a shadow on the most honest party in Italy. Milan was then stronghold of the Italian Socialist Party, and for some time Craxi's own brother-in-law, Paolo Pillitteri, the mayor of the city, was brought under accusation (although he had immunity as a member of Parliament).
In July 1992, Craxi finally recognized the situation and what it was leading to. Although Craxi took 5 months to realize the dangerous situation, some important deputies and heads of parties took even longer and by the time they knew, everything was undone and they were wiped off the political map.
Even Craxi was to receive the first of many 'Avvisi Di Garanzia' in December 1992. The authorisation was denied on 29 April 1993 after Craxi gave an emotional speech.
Facing the judges
In December 1993, after finally allowing himself to be investigated, Craxi was called to testify in front of Antonio Di Pietro, the magistrate who had provoked what Craxi defined as a "false Revolution". On the other hand, Craxi defended himself in a curious way;
During the time of the ENIMONT affair, Craxi declared that in a country where justice always ran slow, his case was moving at extraordinary speed (which it in fact did). No party was spared, but in some parties corruption had become more common than elsewhere (either because of more opportunity or because of internal culture). To this day, some people (especially those who were close to Craxi) argue that some parties (such as the Italian Communist Party) were left untouched, while the leaders of then ruling coalition (and in particular Bettino Craxi) were wiped off the political map.
The judges in Milan were put under scrutiny several times by different governments (especially Silvio Berlusconi's first government in 1994), but no evidence of any misconduct was ever found.
In the end, the Socialist party fell from 14% of votes to virtual nonexistence. An ironic note was that the shattered remnants party were excluded from seats in Parliament by a minimum vote requirement of 4% on national basis, a rule that Bettino Craxi himself demanded when his party was well above that level;
As mentioned before, during the "Mani pulite" period Craxi tried to use a daring defense tactic: he maintained that all parties needed and took money illegally, however they could get it, to finance their activities. While there may have been some truth to this, most citizens distrusted politicians, and Craxi's "defense" met no sympathy by the public and may have served to enrage it even further.
See also: Tangentopoli (Italian for bribeville, used to indicate the corruption-based system that ruled Italy; Craxi is seen by many as its symbol)
"Midgets and dancers"
Craxi's lifestyle was perceived to be inappropriate for the secretary of a party with so many alleged financial problems: he lived in the Raphael, an expensive Hotel in Rome's centre (Piazza Navona), and had a large villa in Hammamet, Tunisia. while many politicians, including Craxi, would justify corruption with the necessities of a democracy, political leaders at many levels enjoyed a lifestyle that should have been well out of their reach, while most parties continued having financial problems.
Furthermore, Craxi's arrogant character won him many enemies; The latter provided protection to Craxi when he escaped from Italy.
Craxi's entourage was sharply defined by a critic as a "court of midgets and dancers", indicating the often ludicrous and immoral traits of a system based on personal acquaintance rather than merit. Among the friends of Craxi's to receive smaller and larger favours, Silvio Berlusconi is perhaps the most known: he received many favours, especially regarding his media empire, and had a decree named after him ("Decreto Berlusconi") long before he entered politics. Other figures were Craxi's mistresses Anja Pieroni, who owned a TV station in the Rome area, and Sandra Milo, who had a skyrocketing career in the state TV conglomerate RAI.
Craxi was also known for never apologizing, as a matter of principle; Craxi never apologized, stating he had done nothing that everybody else had not been doing, and that he was being unjustly singled out and persecuted.
Escape to Tunisia
All this resulted in him being considered the symbol of political corruption, and for a time he was probably Italy's most despised man.
Understanding that the risk of being jailed was growing very real, Craxi escaped to Tunisia in 1994, and remained there, protected by Ben Ali's government.
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