“He has the soul of a crusader and, like a crusader, he has a spirit of sacrifice and dedication”. These are the words Pietro Nenni wrote in his diaries on 9 April 1944 about his fellow party member Sandro Pertini, whose consistency had been central to the courageous anti-fascist opposition, even when he was sentenced to a long prison term and confinement. A consistency also held in the resistance struggle and in his commitment to Italian socialism after 1945. His relationship with his party were always central. As a reformist socialist, he was an advocate of left-wing unity. He did not hold any leadership positions in the party, nor was he ever called upon to serve in government during the centre-left period, ultimately remaining a respected figure among socialist leaders but without any real power. The turning point came in 1968, when he became a key institutional figure, first as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1968 to 1976, and then as President of the Republic from 1978 to 1985. His seven-year term became legendary and remains in the memory of Italians during the season of terrorism because he was able to interpret and defend the role of democratic institutions with authority, backed by the consent of the citizens and his independence from the political class.
