who was Enrico Berlinguer, the former secretary of the Italian Communist Party?

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In 1943, at the age of 21, he joined the PCI and quickly became secretary of the Communist Youth of Sassari, actively participating in the anti-fascist resistance. His rapid rise led him to organize demonstrations to demand resources for the population, which led to his arrest and three-month incarceration in 1944. After his release, he returned to Rome and quickly rose through the ranks of the party, becoming in 1946 the youngest member of the PCI Central Committee.

His big projects

Then, the rise was meteoric: in 1969, he replaced Luigi Longo and became vice-secretary of the PCI then secretary general of the party, only three years later, in 1972. When he took office, Enrico Berlinguer played a crucial role in the evolution of the party. He asserted himself as an emancipatory figure by advocating an Italian path to socialism, very distinct from the Soviet model. Indeed, already in 1956, he criticized the Soviet invasion of Hungary and, in 1968, he strongly opposed the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops. These positions show his desire for autonomy for the PCI and his vision of a democratic and national socialism.

Berlinguer is also one of the main architects of Eurocommunism, a movement which seeks to adapt communist ideas to Western realities. In 1975, they proposed an alliance with the French and Spanish communist parties, advocating for a democratic socialist society, respecting individual freedoms and national traditions. He explains his intentions better in an article called “The Identity of the PCI”, published in August 1978: “We want to achieve, in Western Europe, an economic, social, state model, which is no longer capitalist but which does not copy any model and does not repeat any of the socialist experiences carried out so far, and which, at the same time, is not reduced to exhuming experiences of the social democratic type, which were limited to the management of capitalism. We are for the third solution, which responds precisely to the impossibility of being satisfied with the current world situation. “. His plan for Eurocommunism was quickly aborted when French communists began to support Soviet foreign policy and the Spanish party broke up after the withdrawal of Santiago Carrillo.

From this failure the PCI and its secretary will try to recover and will forge links with the French Socialist Party and François Mitterrand. Excellent relationships will be created and many visits will take place. In 1982, when Enrico Berlinguer was the guest of the Élysée as Pierre Ysmal explains to us, in an article “Sud Ouest” published on March 30, 1982: “We must place this trip in the excellent relations which, for a long time, exist between the PCI and the PS They are much better than those between the Italian communists and their French counterparts”

In 1976, the politician implemented a strategy of refocusing the Italian PC, when it won more than 30% of the votes in the Italian parliamentary elections. Unfortunately, Berlinguer failed in his “historic compromise” strategy, which would have seen the party integrate a coalition government with the center-right. This idea is a bold initiative to create an alliance between communists, Catholics and socialists to democratically reform Italy. This strategy, implemented from 1973 to 1979, aimed to stabilize the country and fight against terrorism.

The death of a man and his party

The death of Enrico Berlinguer comes suddenly in the middle of the European electoral campaign. During a meeting in Padua, the latter suffered a stroke and was quickly taken to hospital. His death occurred four days after the stroke, shortly before the European elections. The secretary general will not have been able to see the PCI obtain 33.33% of the votes, a historic result. Berlinguer leaves behind a legacy marked by his struggle for a national path to socialism, his break with Soviet dogmatism, and his commitment to democracy and individual freedoms. His death is marked by a massive tribute, testifying to the profound impact he had on Italian and international politics.

A documentary “L’addio a Enrico Berlinguer” which traces his funeral and includes testimonies from politicians was also produced in tribute to him by a collective of directors.