I’ve received this great letter from Franca Rame.

“My dear friends,

It’s with pleasure that I’m responding to the invitation of Tonino Di Pietro to present myself on his Blog, and I would like to start with the question that I’m asked most frequently when I make public appearances:

What’s the connection between Franca Rame and Antonio Di Pietro?

In the years 1964-1965, I played in a show called “Settimo: ruba un po’ meno” {Settimo: do a bit less thieving”} that was thirty years before Mani Pulite and it was making detailed accusations about Italian corruption. In 1992, when “Tangentopoli” was happening in Milan, the show was updated in the light of the scandals uncovered with Mani Pulite and it was called “Settimo: ruba un po’ meno 2”, a monologue in which I told the story, without much need to fantasize in the absurd, and gave details of the “thief-behaviour” of Italian politicians. It was a really great success both with the critics and the public. In the story presented in the show, one of the protagonists was obviously Di Pietro, the magistrate. Thus when this very same Di Pietro together with Leoluca Orlando asked me if I would be the candidate at the top of the list for election to the Senato {the Upper House} with IdV {Italia dei Valori} I saw in this candidacy the natural continuation of the civil and political engagement that I’ve always done in the Theatre with my shows. My first task will be to focus attention on the enormous waste in the Public Administration as a first signal of the new political morality.

But what’s the target with the current political situation in Italy? With issues of censorship, of satire and of news?

You all know really well how serious is the issue of information in this country. Whereas once upon a time it was connected with the strongest powers, now it is directly manipulated by the political protagonists (il signor B.) directly for his own election purposes. I’m not going to spend time reminding you of the recent warning of Presidente Ciampi when he exhorted the journalists to keep a straight back!! Anyway already in the bigoted Italy of 1954 the shows that Dario and I did were subject to boycott and eventually to censorship (see Canzonissima of 1962 after which we were ostracised from the RAI for 15 years).
In the meantime it seemed as though something had changed, it seemed that it was possible to express oneself at least using the language of satire and yet, in Berlusconi’s Bulgarian edict, the censored, the ostracised count no longer: Luttazzi, Sabina Guzzanti, Paolo Rossi…and in relation to news? Enzo Biagi, Santoro, Travaglio. Well then, we can’t wait any longer, here I said to myself: we’ll finish up being told what to eat for lunch and for dinner, we need to do something.

What’s my target for civil engagement?

During my artistic career I have always taken action in social issues whether in relation to prisons and prisoners, female emancipation, or workers. In recent years I have devoted my time to issues concerning immigrants and people with disabilities. Since 1998, after Dario Fo was awarded the Nobel Prize we founded the group “un Nobel per i disabili” (a Nobel for disabled people) to which we have gifted the whole of the cash prize (1,689,000,000 Lire). The group, which also obtained other funding, has financed the purchase of 37 mini-buses donated to associations for disabled persons and contributes to the support of families with disabled people who are economically disadvantaged.

I’d like to thank Tonino Di Pietro and all of you IdV supporters for having given me the opportunity, if I’m elected, to take these issues into the Senato. They are issues that have always been close to my heart.
I will do my bit because in this delicate political moment, everyone must put in the effort so that the country does not become the land of conquest for those who think only of their own gain and of that of their family.

A big hug.”

Franca Rame - www.francarame.it