Having entered politics by chance, Bonino led the Radicals to their greatest ever success

Having entered politics by chance in the heat of the battle over abortion, within a few years Emma Bonino had become one of the most versatile, manoeuvring and masterfully tactical political leaders in the radical microcosm. Marco Pannella, a politician through and through, commanded, manoeuvred, formed alliances with cross-party ease, scattered Radicals across the entire political spectrum, took people by surprise, caused a stir, imposed his own vocabulary and persona; he was a master of manoeuvre despite his extremely low poll ratings, but he knew that the success of the Radical Party’s battles coincided entirely with his personal success, whilst also, in return, arousing fierce animosity and indestructible aversion. Not so for her; she was likeable, if not to everyone, then to almost everyone. Running on the Bonino List, Emma achieved the most extraordinary electoral performance in the entire history of the Radical Party in the 1999 European elections, securing a sensational 8.4 per cent. As well as the traditional electorate, she won over the left, the centre and the right. This was partly thanks to a campaign that set a precedent: it was all centred on her expressive face – her in close-up, silent, speaking only through her facial expressions, her endearing grimaces and the purity of her gaze. ‘Vote for Emma’, full stop. A committee was even set up to nominate her for the Quirinale, though the post was ultimately taken by President Ciampi: yet this proved that she, whilst firmly rooted in a political camp with a strong, even overbearing identity, could also be seen as above party politics.

She had been elected in January 1995 as part of Berlusconi’s coalition (at Pannella’s behest), joined the Forza Italia group and was subsequently appointed European Commissioner by the first Berlusconi government. Her first public act in this role was a trip to Sarajevo and Mostar, where massacres were raging amidst the apocalyptic collapse of the former Yugoslavia. She fell out with part of the peace movement because she supported NATO military intervention to stem the monstrous ethnic cleansing carried out by the Serbs and General Mladic, who is now glorified. But then, perhaps relying on the strength of her public image, she was accepted by the left as a candidate for the Lazio Regional Council (though she lost). Later, as Foreign Secretary in the Letta government (which Pannella strongly opposed, leading to a trail of anxieties and memorable disputes), she realised that her position was the opposite of the one she had embraced in 1994.

She never came to terms with the ‘Enrico, stay calm’ remark with which Matteo Renzi gave Letta the sack and took the helm of a group of radicals, Più Europa, who were drifting ever further from the parent organisation. She, now the noble matriarch of this group, felt increasingly estranged from a political offspring that no longer possessed the non-conformist spirit and indomitable fighting spirit that were decisive in defining an age-old radical identity, left orphaned by the death of Marco Pannella. This sense of estrangement extended to her recent silence on current decisions, the waning of pro-Ukrainian support in the name of unity within a coalition that was more imposed than chosen, internal squabbles, and even the recourse to the courts to settle increasingly irreconcilable disputes. She, who could boast well-deserved prestige and who had been an integral part of Italian political history for almost half a century, no longer felt at ease in that role. She remained true to her legacy.