Dario Franceschini: “I have been living with Parkinson’s since 2020. The diagnosis came as a terrible blow.”

"I have Parkinson’s. I was diagnosed in November 2020." Dario Franceschini, a senator for the PD and former Minister of Culture, speaks for the first time about his illness in an interview with Corriere della Sera. "The diagnosis came as a tremendous blow. I’d had a heart attack in 2014, plus a few other minor ailments that were successfully treated. But, well, those were just hiccups along the way that we all more or less expect. Parkinson’s is a different kind of illness; it stays with you for life.” Franceschini explains that his initial reaction was to try to hide the condition. “People with Parkinson’s tend to feel ashamed. They slur their words, mumble, or walk unsteadily – they look like they’re drunk. Others are shaken by an uncontrollable tremor.” But, he emphasises, “it’s vital not to lose heart, to wake up in the morning with something to achieve. To try and fight Parkinson’s, as well as taking medication, it’s crucial to fill your days and keep telling yourself: I won’t give up, I’ll carry on living, I’ll carry on being here.”

So, six years after his diagnosis, he has chosen to go public with his situation: “Speaking publicly about my illness, of course, takes a heavy toll on me,” says Franceschini. “But I’ve thought long and hard about it: and, weighing up the pros and cons, I’ve come to believe it’s right to describe this particular phase of my life. To tell all other people with Parkinson’s: don’t isolate yourselves, carry on living.” The disease, the former minister explains, has also changed his relationship with politics: “It wipes out personal ambitions; it makes you lose that sense of invincibility that a politician is supposed to convey, by appearing – almost by definition – to have no weaknesses, fears or fragility.” Despite the disease, Franceschini carries on with his work: “Parkinson’s affects the body, not cognitive abilities. You slow down the pace of your work; you adapt it. But I have carried on, and I continue to do so, with phone calls, meetings and gatherings.” 

Goffredo Bettini was among the first to comment on Franceschini’s words. “Being open about a difficult health condition is an act of honesty and courage. His intelligence, for as long as he is willing to share it, is as essential as bread to the PD and to Italian democracy. It is our duty to know how to make use of it. Franceschini is also a friend, one of my dearest.” Behind the mechanics of politics lies a vibrant world of faith, feelings, memories and passions that emerges in his novels. There is in him a disillusionment with certain aspects of the world, or perhaps a counterpoint that evokes life – his own and that of others – which he also reflects on in this wonderful interview by Roncone; urging people with his illness to react and fight back. ‘I wish my dear friend boundless strength,’ wrote the PD leader in a Facebook post.