«Great trust is placed in him»- Corriere.it

If the phone of Arcore it still rings because it stopped there Gianni Letta. He has never been a regular guest at the Berlusconi residence: when the villa was the capital of the empire, he stopped just long enough to talk to the Knight. Then he returned to Rome. He thought that the ritual would continue over time, “at least until next year”, because the doctors had said so when explaining the course of Silvio Berlusconi’s illness: “Instead, what none of us expected happened”.

Therefore he decided to stay in Arcore, to share “this great pain” with the sons of the patriarch and help them in a passage that promises to be complicated. In all senses. So he attended the private suffrage mass with them. You observed the way Piersilvio addressed his brother and sisters. And she listened to their promise to «continue united dad’s work to pay tribute to his memory
». Then, together with Fedele Confalonieri, he worked for the funeral: one manned the prefecture of Milan for an entire day, the other worked in contacts with the Quirinal for the state funeral.

“I’ll call,” said Letta, in a tone that reassured the family members, overwhelmed by emotion. For days that “I’ll call” has been repeated, because there are also other matters to be dealt with. «The old guard is a stick on which Berlusconi’s children know they can lean», say from the top management of the Biscione: «And Gianni plays a central role. Great trust is placed in him.” What he did for his father he will continue to do for his children, exploiting his relationships in the capital’s palaces of power. Opening doors that none of them in Rome has ever crossed.

It is true, Marina has established a direct relationship with the prime minister, but – as those who know that world maintain – “it is still necessary to have a point of reference”. And Letta is. «Letta is the man Romano Prodi lacks» said Francesco Rutelli in the roaring years of muscular bipolarism, recognizing in Cavaliere’s collaborator qualities that were scarce in the centre-left. On appointments, for example, he will be able to suggest to the family how to move. It’s an exercise he’s been practicing for years: from top positions in state-owned companies to career advancement, there is always one of his “suggestions” resting on the desk of those who have to decide. Guido Crosetto confided to a colleague how «the week doesn’t go by without Gianni pointing me to someone in the Armed Forces».

Furthermore, the man who has never had a Forza Italia card will now have to deal more directly with Berlusconi’s political creature, guaranteeing a soft landing when the time comes. Yesterday he met with Antonio Tajani: the long march towards next year’s European Championships needs to be prepared and it will be necessary to decide how to face them. A couple of days before worsening, the Knight had dictated the “value card” of the Azzurri in view of the elections and had called “Gianni” to ask for suggestions. Now in Letta’s diary, his secretary has pinned a series of calls: they are the centrist leaders who would like to speak to him to understand if there is the intention of joining forces in a single list that refers to the People’s Party.

“These are difficult times,” admit exponents of the force. It will soon be understood whether the heirs of the Knight will decide to have Forza Italia present at the polls alone. Giorgia Meloni has assured that she does not intend to launch a takeover bid on the party and in the territories she has given the order to FdI executives not to welcome blues who wanted to move. They tell that these days Berlusconi’s children have expressed themselves on political issues “appropriately”. But as a center-right personality says, “everyone, even great leaders, needs a personal Cassation”. That is, they need someone to rely on before saying the last word. Someone like Gianni Letta.

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