My memory of Giorgio Ruffolo
The cultural and political profile of Giorgio Ruffolo who died at the age of 96. The memory of Giuliano Cazzola
With Giorgio Ruffolo, a personality of high cultural and political profile has passed away. He was born in 1926, a year in which Providence had the happy hand, because in that same year and limiting myself to my direct acquaintances, two great trade unionists such as Bruno Trentin and Sergio Garavini were born, but also true primus inter pares , also Giorgio Napolitano.
1926, THE YEAR IN WHICH PROVIDENCE WAS IN HAPPY HAND
We could talk at length about his life, his political activity, his works, his writings without being able to express how much there would be to say about a personality so rich in talents, commitment and merits. If I had to give a synthetic judgment of Giorgio I would say that he corresponded to the characteristics of a student of ENA, the famous French institution which for decades has formed the ruling class beyond the Alps, prepared to transition from High Administration to politics. It is no coincidence that it is said – in fact – that France is a country that is not governed but administered.
Ruffolo began his cursus honorum as a technocrat, first in large credit institutions and in important parastatal companies, then he began his relationship with politics as civil servant as general secretary of programming, where he collaborated with various ministers including Ugo La Malfa and Antonio Giolitti (who was a collector of the socialist intelligentsia and Giorgio's point of reference in the Party). ''Economic planning'' was one of the objectives proposed (indeed claimed) by the PSI for its participation in the first centre-left governments, but which later turned out to be the great illusion of those who had brought with them the idea of a policy of floor. I met Giorgio when he played that role. I remember that he came to Bologna, to the University (I was then a student who went to listen to him) to present the Report on Programming and stood up with solid arguments to those who attacked him from the left for purely ideological reasons. Later, having joined the union, I found myself taking part in the relaunch by Federico Coen. of the historic magazine Mondoperaio founded by Pietro Nenni. Giorgio Ruffolo was one of the great signatures of that group of people who, in the context of the left (he was ''Lombard''), played a role of research and innovation.
RUFFOLO'S SOCIALISM
Ruffolo was always close to the socialist component of the CGIL and participated in its initiatives. I remember once, on a very hot July day, Ottaviano Del Turco called a national meeting of socialist trade unionists in a Roman hotel where the air conditioning did not work. It happened that while Giorgio was speaking, one stood up at the back of the room and shouted at the presidency: ''Don't you see he's sick!''. Ruffolo stopped (then recounted that he thought that companion was contesting his speech), but a second later he collapsed in a faint from heatstroke. Luckily he recovered quickly. A few minutes later the same thing happened to Fausto Vigevani who, however, had to leave in an ambulance. When he became Minister of the Environment (a post he held in several governments) Ruffolo gave a structure to the Dicastery which until then had been a sine cura . He made it an important ministry, also through the publication of a Report on the Environment which made anyone who read it participate and be informed of those problems. I remember it because I had been appointed, within the secretariat of the CGIL, to take care of the sector.
Then I happened to manage an important dispute with the minister and his cabinet chief (also a socialist historian) Manin Carabba; scene of one of the first environmental protests against a chemical plant. It was the Acna of Cengio. Ruffolo tried to manage a recovery policy in agreement with the unions to avoid the closure of the plants. It was an exemplary experience which, however, did not hold up in the following years under pressure from the surrounding communities. As minister, however, Ruffolo ''gave the line'': one didn't have to choose which interests to defend (the workers or the citizens) but make use of the available technologies to keep the renovated factories in business. I later established a closer relationship with Ruffolo when the PSI fell apart.
We both joined the Democratic Alliance, a formation that in those times seemed to have a solid future especially during a short period in which an alliance was made with Mario Segni, then in great shape after winning the referendum on the electoral law. Then Segni made other choices and the Democratic Alliance "left it alone". So in the general elections – in coalition with the Progressives in 1994 – he had to settle for 500,000 votes. And close up shop. Giorgio continued to play politics in the European Parliament as an independent on the lists organized by the PDS-DS. Candidate in my constituency, I didn't hesitate to vote for him even if that was the first and last time I gave my vote to a former PCI formation.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/il-mio-ricordo-di-giorgio-ruffolo-provvidenza-giuliano-cazzola/ on Sun, 19 Feb 2023 07:25:43 +0000.