"You have six months left," said the army doctor when I was called up.
Years Iater, l Iooked him up: l wanted him to see l was alive,
but he was dead.
It always went that way.
They'd predict my demise, and l'd survive.
They'd die instead.
On the other hand, l've suffered splitting headaches all my life.
Now I'm using a Chinese remedy, but I've tried everything.
In its day, the drug Optalidon Iooked reaIIy promising.
I even sent a supply to a journalist: Mino Pecorelli.
He's dead, too.
THE SPECTACULAR LIFE OF GIULIO ANDREOTTI
"The Premier's Checks"
ROBERTO CALVI. BANKER JUNE 1 7, 1 982
MICHELE SINDONA. BANKER MARCH 22, 1986
MINO PECORELLI. JOURNALIST MARCH 20, 1979
CARLO ALBERTO DALLA CHIESA CARABINIERI GENERAL, SEPT 3, 1982
GIORGIO AMBROSOLI. LIQUIDATOR "PRIVATA ITALIANA" BANK, JULY 12, 1979
ALDO MORO DC PRESIDENT, MAY 9, 1978
GIOVANNI FALCONE MAGISTRATE - MAY 23, 1992
ROME. THE EARLY '90s
"Massacres and conspiracies are the work of Craxi and Andreotti"
- What time did you wake up, Giulio? - 4:30.
The great La Pira would wake at 3:30.
He was a saint. I'm a sinner.
- How many times, Giulio? - As of today, seven.
Seven times Premier, twenty-five times minister.
I never had such an illustrious parishioner.
We're all illustrious in God's eyes.
Montanelli said:
"De Gasperi and Andreotti went to mass together.
"Everyone thought they did the same thing, but it wasn't so.
In church, De Gasperi talked to God. Andreotti talked to the priest."
Priests vote.
God doesn't.
Mario, I want to confess.
Of course, Giulio.
Premier, don't slouch.
I'm comfortable like this.
Premier, storm clouds are gathering.
PRESS AGENTS OF PAOLO CIRINO POMICINO
CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER aIias "THE MINISTER"
FRANCO EVANGELISTI - ANDREOTTI'S RIGHT-HAND MAN alias "THE LEMON"
Hello...
Yes, excuse me.
GIUSEPPE CIARRAPICO BUSINESSMAN alias "CIARRA"
VITTORIO SBARDELLA DC MP alias "THE SHARK"
CARDINAL FIORENZO ANGELINI aIias "HIS HEALTHINESS"
THE ANDREOTTI FACTION OF THE CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS
Fiorenzo, sit on the throne.
How's the Pope doing?
I was on TV yesterday.
There was talk of priests in trouble. I quoted Pius XI.
Whenever they mentioned a priest in trouble to him,
he always said the same five words.
- What? - "What is the lady's name?"
- The Lad's in good form. - Thank you for calling me "lad."
The usual nasty journalist pushed the same old button:
My faction... according to her, it's teeming with bad company.
What did you reply?
One can never be too cautious about the company one keeps.
After all, Jesus had Judas amongst his discipIes.
- What's eating you, Salvo? - Nothing.
Rome's so beautiful. And it's so calm too.
Fiorenzo, I'd Iike Tedax to stay in the pharmaceutical codex.
It's relieving the suffering of many.
Giulio, Tedax is problematic. It doesn't...
Tell me about my favorite pony.
Craxi was on the warpath. He kept yelling:
"I'd sooner cut my balls off than see your Mazza as bank president."
- Who got the job? - Our Mazza.
Have you already asked Craxi to comply?
It's relieving the suffering of many.
Giulio, I need to talk to you in private.
And Vittorio also has ideas about the faction
that not only differ from ours, but they're excessive too.
I propose... to arrange in a more widely distributed manner...
that would only be difficult...
Boys, behave yourselves.
Today is the inception of the 7th Andreotti government.
Today's a day of celebration.
Let's all behave.
SALVO LIMA DC MP alias "HIS EXCELLENCY"
Today's a day of celebration.
Good morning, Premier. Do you know the way?
It's vaguely familiar, thank you.
The President of the Republic, Francesco Cossiga.
THE 7TH ANDREOTTI GOVERNMENT
Premier...
Apart from the Punic Wars,
I've been blamed for everything that's happened in ltaIy.
They've honored me with several nicknames:
The Divine Julius, The First Letter of the Alphabet,
The Hunchback, The Fox, Moloch,
The Salamander, The Black Pope, Eternity,
Man of Darkness, Beelzebub.
But I've never pressed charges
for a simple reason: I have a sense of humor.
I have something else, too:
a vast archive in place of an imagination.
Every time I mention it,
those who should shut up do so, as if by magic.
- You may go in, ma'am. - Wait!
What's wrong?
Everyone says he's a dangerous man.
Andreotti isn't dangerous.
He's daring. That's quite a different thing.
Is there anything I should know about him?
Yes, his hands. Watch them closely.
If he twiddIes his thumbs, he thinks you're intelligent.
If he plays with his ring,
it means he disagrees with what you're saying.
If he rhythmically taps his fingertips together,
it means you'll be dismissed within the next five minutes.
What about when his eyes suddenIy diIate?
I don't know, no one does. Good luck.
Thank you.
Giulio, it's midnight, we have to go.
Don't forget you're leaving tomorrow.
Yes, Livia.
- Thank you for coming, Andreotti. - Goodbye, Paolo.
MOSCOW. THE KREMLIN
Hello, I'm the Premier.
I'm more important, I'm his wife.
- Did you go play cards? - Yes.
l wore the coat that Saddam Hussein gave you.
Marisa Ioved it and asked where I bought it.
I was a bit hesitant to say, because it seemed like I was boasting.
- How's Gorbachev? - State Secret.
Is that birthmark on his head unsightly?
I don't mind it.
Are you going to bed now?
First I have to do some Cossack dancing.
- Say "trimarri." - "Tvimavvi."
- Say "vrigliari." - "Vigliavi." That's enough.
Goodnight, Giulio.
What will they remember about you, HonorabIe Mr. Andreotti?
I don't intend to rake up your duII career,
that's not a crime.
What will they remember about you?
A cold organizer: inscrutable, incapable of doubts or thrills.
Incapable of pity.
What will they remember about you?
Postscript:
the Pope did ever so little,
perhaps he'll feel guilty.
Your government's immobility damages your race for the presidency.
The government's about to faII, but it shouldn't happen like this.
Better to bluff it than snuff it.
Politically, you're naive.
Naivety and intelligence aIways go together.
- Are you calling me a bastard? - Of course not.
You're angry because I didn't defend you from Cossiga's accusations.
That's water under the bridge.
I couldn't oppose Cossiga, we've been arguing for months.
I'm just trying to see things from a political viewpoint.
You always want to talk poIiticaI strategies.
I, on the other hand, have a dreadful migraine today.
Yes, but you always have a migraine.
Remind Fiorenzo about Tedax.
Let's make sure it stays in the pharmaceutical codex.
Amintore...
Good morning, ma'am.
I'm weII, thank you. How about you? Go ahead.
Actually, it's not true.
I'm not very good at making recommendations.
I hate lies, and I don't tell them.
I've never believed one can divide humanity
into two groups: angels and demons.
We're all average sinners.
If one wants to keep a secret, one mustn't even confide in oneself.
One must never leave a trace.
Good evening.
Come in.
Take a seat, please, ma'am.
I used to come to this apartment before you were here.
- It was a furrier's. - I know.
Craxi used to say:
"Andreotti is an old fox. He'll end up in a furrier's one day."
He was right, I really have.
But alive.
Does my company bore you that much?
- Not at all. - ReaIIy?
Really.
You aren't at all curious about me. It's very unusual.
I'm only curious about myself.
My job is to inquire into myself.
Does this noble work pay well?
Yes, my husband pays for this noble work very generously.
What do you expect from me, ma'am?
Sorry, I wanted to thank you.
It's a very difficult time for me.
I'm so vulnerable.
You mustn't be.
Vulnerability always commands exorbitant prices.
So, what must I do?
Your young lover is transient, because youth is transient.
But your husband isn't.
He's a cure for your loneliness
and for your vulnerability.
BeIieve me, I'm famiIiar with loneliness, and it's not very nice.
In my position, I must have met about 300,000 people.
Do you think this oceanic crowd has made me feel any less lonely?
Thank you.
Go!
Giulio, the Mafia murdered SaIvo Lima.
VINCENZO SCOTTI INTERIOR MINISTER alias "TARZAN"
Teresa, how are you?
That's good news.
Yes, Teresa.
Livia and I will visit you on Sunday.
All right. Goodbye.
Teresa is my cousin.
She's the same age as me, and she's always sick, in the hospital.
Once she was home for three months: a remarkabIe event.
To teII you the truth, as much as I've tried,
and I've tried a lot over the years of miIitancy, friendship...
I must say that I'll never understand you.
I don't know you.
When they abducted Moro, I had spasms of vomiting.
An uncontrollable reaction.
Uncontrollable reactions embarrass us.
But deep down they reassure us,
because they tell us that we're alive and human.
We have to go to Palermo for the funeral.
If they killed Lima to strike at me,
a candidate in pectore for the presidency of the Republic,
it means there's another candidate using these methods.
I speak to the State, I speak to the investigators,
and I call on you to identify and exemplarily punish
the killers and the mandators alike,
so that this time they cannot be shielded by a disheartening vagueness,
especially the mandators.
Public opinion calls for justice to prevail.
There should be absolutely no doubt
about the willingness to investigate
and expose the true facts.
Lord, keep a close watch on me,
because I am becoming despicabIe in the eyes of those who contemplate me.
Lord, keep a close watch on me,
because I am becoming despicabIe in the eyes of those who contemplate me.
Lima was suspected of Mafia involvement for years.
He generated too much gossip.
So do many other members of your faction. It's not a good sign.
- I generate gossip, too. - But you're Andreotti, they aren't.
That, at least, is not my fault.
Why do you surround yourself with such people?
Wars are fought with the troops available.
The best people can choose the best troops.
Trees need manure in order to grow.
Your irony is atrocious.
Irony is the best cure against death.
Cures against death are always atrocious.
You're suffering for Lima?
I'm suffering for Moro.
Everything always washed over me without leaving a trace,
but not Moro.
I just can't get him off my mind.
It's like a second migraine, but even more agonizing.
Why didn't they take me? I'm strong.
Moro was a weak man.
Don't say that. It's just pointless remorse.
If the Red Brigades had wanted secrets,
they could have talked to me for a year.
Moro had no idea that certain things even existed.
You know, Mario, once they called me at home.
No one has my private number.
They said they'd kill me on December 26th.
I replied, "Thanks, now I'll spend HoIy Christmas in peace."
I'm stiII here. They were put off by a witty remark.
The Red Brigades... far too serious.
Andreotti's 7th government shouldn't have ended this way.
It doesn't matter. Next time, God willing, I'll get a little higher.
The Quirinal.
The presidency of the RepubIic would be your crowning achievement.
How will you spend Sunday?
The same way I spend all the others, with my oId constituents.
- Thank you, Premier. - You're welcome, ma'am.
Do they grow that big in Ferentino?
In Sora? Thank you, Vittorio, put them down there.
This is for you.
Here's a nice saiIboat and a lovely toy kitchen.
- This is for you. - Many thanks, Premier.
- Premier, I'd... - What's this?
Household expenses...
Goodness...
- Any news on that job, Premier? - You'll have to be patient.
WeII, chaps, we need to face up to the situation.
Now that Cossiga had nominated The Lad as Iife senator,
what will happen to his 330,000 votes?
Bravo, that's exactly why
I think I should be appointed faction coordinator.
Behave yourselves.
I don't get it, what the hell do you want to coordinate?
Each one of us always took care of our own regions.
Behave yourselves!
What do you want?
Join in this political debate but don't just say, "Behave yourselves."
We need a concept.
Where are you going?
To the other Christian Democrat faction, they're nicer.
Niceness is detrimental in politics.
That's why I'm going, because I'm not nice at all.
Wait a moment.
Pomicino, The Shark's leaving.
And he's taking all those 330,000 votes with him.
The Shark?! The little fish... who'll drown.
Hi.
How are you, my dearest Ambassador?
My dear lady! I haven't slept a wink
since I missed your last art exhibition.
You didn't miss a thing, I'm just a dabbler.
Hooray for dabbling!
I'm a surgeon and Chancellor of the Exchequer...
Professionalism is killing us.
I beg you, please dance.
WouId you Iike a "Transgression," ma'am?
- What do you mean? - It's a cocktail, ma'am.
No, thank you.
Premier, would you care for a Cuban?
Thank you, but I don't succumb to Iesser vices.
Have you ever danced, Premier?
My whole life, ma'am.
Here's the "fat girl" I promised you.
You can't imagine what this mozzarella's like.
- It reminds me of SbardeIIa. - Reminds you? It is Sbardella.
That traitor! How far will he get without Andreotti?
He won't get anywhere without Andreotti.
We're not members of a faction,
we're in a theocratic empire where one person rules: Andreotti.
Eat Sbardella, Franco. It'll calm you down.
Listen, Andreotti, the aim of this dinner is obvious.
We think you should be elected President of the RepubIic.
And we want to do everything possible to make that happen.
What do you think?
I know I'm of average height, but...
I don't see any giants around.
I know my Giulio too well.
He just said yes.
Thank you.
This watch
isn't to commemorate the moment, it's for the future.
Its hands always point to the future.
And you are the future. I got it from Haussmann's.
It's the brand that counts, not the store.
You make it tough to care about you.
I never asked you to care about me.
I know, but I care about you aII the same.
And in all these years, you've never shown me any affection. Never.
I always defended you politically.
Even when you made incongruous remarks.
Yes, but life isn't only politics.
I'm not intelligent like you... I did some "incongruous" things,
but I always covered the body part directly below the coccyx for you.
Always.
Always. Don't forget that.
You just made another incongruous remark.
There's nothing else but politics.
Talk to Fiorenzo.
I'll be unhappy if Tedax is taken off the pharmaceuticaI codex.
What is it?
Why did you get up?
I wanted to wish you luck.
Yes.
If you get elected, will we live in the QuirinaI or here?
Here. The Quirinal would drive you mad.
It's like being a prisoner
with aII those cuirassiers, speakers and pastry-bearers.
Yes, Enea, five o'clock wiII be fine. Thanks.
Bastard.
The order of business is:
election of the President of the Republic.
Thieves!
Honorable members!
Honorable Parisi!
You're an old parliamentarian, show some respect.
- I'll press charges! - Shame on you!
Show some decency!
Buffoons! Buffoons!
We have to nominate the President of the Republic,
we must remain united so one of our men wins.
My dear chaps, come to an agreement. Talk frankly.
If dear Arnaldo is a candidate, I'm out of the race.
If dear Giulio is a candidate, I'm out of the race.
I see.
- How did it go? - They both want to run.
I'd like to finish speaking, Mr. President.
You've already had two applauses, let someone else talk.
I just want to finish a line of reasoning.
That's enough reasoning, let's vote.
Honorable member, reasoning is optional for you.
Four ballots and we still don't have a real candidate.
AgneIIi asked me if this would go on all week.
Is he worried about the weekend?
Franco, I don't discuss politics with you, just sports.
I discuss politics with Giulio.
The immobiIity of Andreotti's government has multiplied its enemies.
If we vote for him, they'll assault us.
You haven't understood a thing.
You hammer us for a year
and then ask us to vote the big boss into the Quirinal.
Andreotti in the QuirinaI and Forlani as head of the D.C. party.
If you want Forlani in the Quirinal, don't compIain afterwards.
If ForIani gets the presidency, De Mita becomes party leader.
And De Mita will hinder Craxi from becoming premier.
That's why we have to get Andreotti into the Quirinal,
and leave Forlani as party leader and MartinazzoIi as vice premier.
See how simple, clear and scientific it is?
See all these people? See the opposition?
Andreotti supporters are everywhere, above suspicion.
Not only in the Christian Democrats: I'm cross-party.
The killer was about to be revealed. I never want to know.
The candidates will fall, one by one.
Then we'II move in, rested and redemptive.
What do the illegal bookmakers say?
Spadolini is at one and a half, Andreotti four, Craxi eight,
Iotti ten, Forlani twelve,
De Mita fifteen and Scalfaro twenty.
- Cossiga? - Cossiga's not on the list.
Did they forget him?
Will you vote for him?
No, I can't stand him.
- What does that mean? - I could never stand him.
Not voting for him is dangerous, for you and us, too.
I'm asking you as a favor, do it for me. Just this once.
- All right. - Dry your hands, hurry.
Let us observe a one-minute silence
in memory of Giovanni Falcone, magistrate.
Here are the ballot results:
present voters 1002, no abstentions.
Absolute majority of the assembly: 508.
Voting went as follows...
- Watch Andreotti closely. - ScaIfaro 672 votes...
- He's waited for this all his life. - Miglio 75, Cossiga 63...
VoIponi 50, VaIiani 36, Forlani and Spadolini 7,
Andreotti and Vassalli 6,
Conso and Iotti 4,
Bossi and Scalfari 3, Guido Quaranta 2.
Invalid ballots: 15, blank ballots: 38, void ballots: 1 1.
I declare the elected President of the Republic to be
the Honorable Oscar Luigi Scalfaro.
Keep watching him.
Watch and learn how to behave.
I never kissed my mother. Never !
Then again, Judas kissed a lot, and he wasn't sentimentaI.
She wasn't at aII impressed that I was an MP or minister.
I cried when she died.
During my life, I cried twice more:
when De Gasperi died and the first time I was nominated vice-minister.
Once, l made a vow,
it was when the Red Brigades kidnapped AIdo Moro.
I vowed to give up ice cream if he was reIeased.
I have a weakness for ice cream.
If there were direct elections in Italy for President of the Republic,
I would've won.
I forgive you, but you've got to get down on your knees.
If you have the courage to change... but they won't change.
To change, change...
They don't want to change, they won't change...
Change and stop causing death and destruction.
Go back to being Christians.
We pray for this in the name of Jesus who said it on the cross:
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Politicians, businessmen: I'm worried about this recent wave of suicides.
Some can't stand imprisonment,
others the accusations of corruption or bribery...
and they kiII themseIves... but are they suicides, Premier?
By the way,
Craxi says you're the puppeteer behind BribesviIIe.
What nonsense!
Your colleagues are falling prey to corruption and extortion.
Craxi, Forlani, De Mita, Martelli, La Malfa.
But not you.
This appallingly big scandal hasn't touched you.
I feeI compassion and a sense of sadness for them.
But I don't think they're finished.
I don't beIieve they're personally responsible
or that they should disappear from the poIiticaI scene.
I don't want to talk about Bribesville,
but about a piece I'd like to write on an almost philosophical theme.
The theme is chance.
I don't beIieve in chance, I believe in the will of God.
But you should believe in chance!
Well, Premier,
is it by chance that the families of assassination victims hate you?
Dalla Chiesa's son hates you.
He says that you instigated his father's murder.
Aldo Moro's wife hates you
and holds you responsible for her husband's death.
Does banker Roberto Calvi's wife hate you by chance?
She said you threatened then ordered Calvi's murder.
She says the Vatican Bank didn't kill him, but two people:
Andreotti and Cosentino, who's also dead now.
And I wonder, is it by chance that you were Interior Minister
when the bandit Pisciotta was killed by poisoned coffee?
Maybe Pisciotta could have revealed the instigators of Giuliano's murder.
Was banker Michele Sindona killed in the same way by chance?
He too could have made some uncomfortable disclosures in prison.
Is it by chance that everyone says you repeatedly protected Sindona?
Is it by chance that Evangelisti, your deputy,
met Sindona when he was on the run, at a toy shop in New York?
Is it by chance that the Magistrate Viola says
if you hadn't protected Sindona,
the Ambrosoli crime wouldn't have happened?
Furthermore,
you jot down everything scrupulously in your diary, so is it by chance
that you forgot to write about the Ambrosoli crime?
Is it by chance that from '76-'79, when you were Premier,
aII the secret service chiefs were members of the P2 Masonic lodge?
Is it by chance that in your frequent meetings with P2 head, Licio Gelli,
you talked exclusively about South American desaparecidos?
That's what you said: "just friendIy chit-chat."
Finally, is it by chance that you've been dragged into
nearly every scandal that's afflicted this country?
And that's without mentioning aII the suspects that allege your Mafia links.
Basically, as Montanelli said, "It's one or the other.
"You're either the most cunning criminal in the country
"because you never got caught
or you're the most persecuted man in the history of Italy."
So I'm asking:
are all these coincidences the fruit of chance
or the will of God?
Is it by chance that the influential newspaper you founded
was once saved by the Premier?
That Premier was me.
Your newspaper aImost feII into the hands of Silvio Berlusconi,
an employer you wouldn't have liked.
I stopped it from happening.
Also thanks to the mediation of the much-reviled Ciarrapico.
I aIIowed you to regain your independence and freedom.
Independence and freedom which allows you
to ask me impudent, specious questions.
It's thanks to me that you can be so arrogant,
presumptuous and distrustful towards me.
That's not the case...
The situation was a bit more complicated.
See? You're quite perspicacious, you've worked it out for yourself.
The situation was a bit more complicated.
But that doesn't just apply to your story, it appIies to mine, too.
TOTO' RIINA. MAFIA BOSS OF BOSSES alias "THE BEAST"
Now I'll tell you everything, but hold on to your seats,
because it's all linked, everything is connected.
I repeat: hold on to your seats.
GIANCARLO CASELLI ATTORNEY GENERAL OF PALERMO
Pippo CaIo, Toto Riina and Francesco Madonia
made use of Licio Gelli for their investments.
Some of this money was invested in the Vatican Bank
where Gelli acted as banker for the group.
Sindona was banker for the previous Mafia bosses:
Stefano Bontate and Salvatore Inzerillo...
Yes, I met Licio Gelli and Michele Sindona.
Well-mannered, respectful people.
Licio GeIIi had a mattress shop near the Christian Democrat headquarters.
Pippo CaIo kiIIed several relatives of mine,
but at one time we were great friends.
Roberto Calvi appropriated a substantiaI sum
belonging to Gelli and Calo.
Calvi's suicide was staged.
Calvi was strangled by Francesco Di Carlo,
on Pippo Calo's orders.
Pippo Calo was a very important man in Cosa Nostra.
He's capable of using his brain. He was Cosa Nostra's man in Rome.
He had Iinks with Bontate, then with Riina,
with the Camorra, with the Vatican, with the Secret Services,
with the P2 and the Magliana Gang.
- If Calo talked... - If Calo talked...
he'd die after saying, "Good morning."
On the subject of Moro, Pippo Calo told Bontate:
"Don't you get it? His fellow party members don't want him freed."
In 1983, Badalamenti told me there were secrets about Moro's kidnapping.
Secrets that troubled the Honorable Mr. Andreotti.
Andreotti was worried they couId Ieak out.
Only two people knew about these secrets:
General Dalla Chiesa and Mino Pecorelli, the journalist.
BadaIamenti toId me that although we'd killed Pecorelli,
it was a political killing
commissioned by the Salvo cousins as a favor to Andreotti.
When Dalla Chiesa was murdered, Badalamenti said:
"They sent him to Palermo to get rid of him.
He hadn't done anything in Sicily
to justify all that hate towards him."
The Pecorelli and Dalla Chiesa cases are linked, gentlemen.
The government wouIdn't give Dalla Chiesa special anti-Mafia powers.
When Dalla Chiesa was killed, they blamed the Mafia.
Some time after, I had a meeting with Lima and Nino SaIvo.
If Dalla Chiesa was already powerless on aII IeveIs, why kiII him?
For some politicians, he'd have been more dangerous in retirement.
We're the ones who'll be fucked for a Iong time to come.
Badalamenti told me he'd met up with Andreotti in Rome,
to thank him for his concern
over a trial regarding Filippo Rimi, Badalamenti's brother-in-law.
Badalamenti told me that Andreotti congratulated him, saying:
"Men like you..."
Men like you... are needed on every street in Italy.
LARRY SCHOENBACH BADALAMENTI'S ATTORNEY
It was said by Ciro Varga of the Vallelunga family,
CataIdo Terminio of the San Cataldo family,
and SaIvatore Ferrero of the Caltanisetta family that...
Giulio, I need to talk to you in private.
The Honorable Mr. Lima was Andreotti's contact
for everything that concerned Cosa Nostra,
especially the trials.
Sebastiano Nardo toId me that Andreotti was "pricked,"
he was initiated, a "man of honor."
Bontate told me that Andreotti went to PaIermo to meet him,
Lima, the Salvo cousins and the Honorable Mr. Nicoletti.
It was between spring and summer of '79.
The meeting took place on a hunting reserve
and Bontate complained to Andreotti
about the Honorable Mr. Mattarella's behavior,
who wasn't lending a helping hand to the Mafia anymore.
There was a second meeting some months after Mattarella's death.
We're in charge of Sicily
and if you don't want the D.C. wiped out, you'd better do as we say.
Otherwise we won't just take away the Sicilian votes,
but those from Reggio Calabria and all Southern Italy, too.
You'll only have the North, where they all vote Communist.
Take our votes.
And don't get any ideas about special measures or laws,
or there'll be other serious incidents.
But I'd point out that after '87, Andreotti stopped favoring anyone.
In fact, he started fighting the Mafia.
Lima died because he represented that political faction
which had made use of Cosa Nostra's votes
then reneged on its commitments during the Big Mafia TriaI.
I can't be more precise about when the meeting took place,
because it's hard to put a date on my memories.
You know that what you're telling us is aImost unbeIievabIe?
Yes.
But it was also unbelievable that Riina was captured
after years on the run, but it happened. Thanks to me.
Come with me.
The Palermo Judges sent notification
that I'm under investigation for Mafia connections.
They'll ask for authorization to proceed against me.
And this time they'll get it.
I know who you are.
You can't spend your life with a man and not know who he is.
I know who you are. And we'll defend ourselves.
l don't know if Riina and Andreotti met or not.
But if they did, I'm sure they kissed.
Andreotti spoke about the Mafia. Well, he spoke about himself...
Why must the good ones always die, like the mafioso Liggio?
When Andreotti dies, they'll take the bIack box out of his hump
and we'll finally know...
...like a miraculous lucky dip
It's wonderful to dip in whiIe suspended
From a soft, pink cloud
Me, like a gentleman
And you, like
A bride
While outside the window
Only the dust blows
A storm's brewing
We two are from a distant planet
But from here, the world seems Iike a secret trap door
Everyone wants everything
Only to realize
That it's all nothing
We won't be like other people
These will always be
The best years of our lives
HoId me tight, no night lasts forever...
Livia, your lively eyes dazzled me one afternoon in the Verano cemetery.
I chose that odd pIace to ask you to marry me.
Remember? Yes, I know, you remember.
Your lively, innocent, enchanted eyes didn't know,
don't know and will never know.
They have no idea of the deeds that power must commit
to ensure the weII-being and development of the country.
For too long, that power was me.
The monstrous, unavowable contradiction:
perpetrating evil to guarantee good.
The monstrous contradiction that made me
a cynical man that even you couldn't decipher.
Your lively, innocent eyes don't know the responsibility.
The direct and indirect responsibility
for all the carnage in Italy from 1969 to 1984
that left precisely 236 dead and 817 injured.
To all the families of the victims, I say that I confess.
I confess that it was my fault, my most grievous fauIt.
I'll say it, even if it's pointless.
Havoc used to destabilize the country,
to provoke terror to isolate the extremist parties
and strengthen the center ones Iike the Christian Democrats...
has been described as "tension strategy."
It would be more correct to say "survivaI strategy."
Roberto, Michele, Giorgio, Carlo Alberto,
Giovanni, Mino, dear Aldo,
by vocation or necessity, all confirmed lovers of the truth.
All bombs ready to explode that were defused into silence.
All of them thinking truth is the right thing,
but, actually, it's the end of the world.
We can't allow the end of the world in the name of what's right.
We have a task, a divine task.
We must love God greatly
to understand how necessary eviI is for good.
God knows it, I know it, too.
One can be dull but honest, dull but good,
dull but full of fervor.
Well, Honorable Mr. Andreotti, that is just what you lack.
You lack human fervor.
Along with the goodness, wisdom, fIexibiIity, transparency
that undeniably make up
the few real Christian Democrats that exist in the world.
You'll last a little longer, or a little less,
but you'll vanish without a trace.
You'll be a mere news item, especially now that it suits you.
- How long did you walk? - AII night.
- My Iegs are reaIIy hurting. - Take more care. Stress, your age...
- Tedax would make me happy. - It was taken off the codex.
Stop the nervous walking, try doing some sports.
All my athletic friends are dead.
Chance.
I don't beIieve in chance. I believe in the will of God.
- I'm sorry. - No, don't say anything.
It's for the best. I'II retire to the country and pick chicory.
- Chicory's good. - Yes, it's politics that's bad.
And to tell the truth, I'm tired of it.
It's for the best.
Andreotti says he has too many legal expenses
and now that he's not in the government...
Poor Andreotti, he was always on his own.
Now even more so.
- What's in there? - Love letters.
You wouldn't think it, but women liked Andreotti.
They wrote him lots of letters.
But I never let him see them.
I don't want trouble.
Have you read them, Miss Enea?
I know full well, Senator,
that there are certain things in Iife one mustn't see.
PRIVATE ARCHIVES OF GIULIO ANDREOTTI
I can say with a sense of responsibility that I'd prefer
the Mafia to have eIiminated me in the same way they did Dalla Chiesa
than to end up here, not knowing how to defend myself against lies.
I never met the Salvo cousins in my life.
I never associated with them,
and Lima never hinted at matters pertaining to the Mafia.
I do not know Bontate, I do not know Badalamenti.
I have never had secret meetings with them.
My movements are constantly controlled by the police.
I am under special surveillance, I want there to be no doubt.
As for the authorization to proceed, I'm in your hands.
Senator, if we use our vote
to block further investigations by the judiciary,
what wiII be Ieft of this country's institutions?
I understand the risk, but...
we cannot allow the judiciary to govern.
That's all for now.
Would you like to add anything else, Senator Andreotti?
Go ahead.
For many years, I have been Italy's international representative.
A country led by someone who reports to the Mafia
does not have much credibility in the worId arena.
I'm not the only one who'll be discredited by this.
You've lost more weight.
And my hand shakes when I write.
Because you don't sleep anymore.
Yes, I don't sleep anymore.
Your friends from the faction don't caII anymore.
Pray for them, Livia. They were destroyed, too.
By whom?
By life
and by accusations of bribery.
Is it far?
26 times for 26 different accusations,
I was brought before the investigating committee.
They made me talk for days on end.
But each time, the case was dismissed.
Dismissed, dismissed, dismissed...
We're here to taIk about presumed governmental responsibility
in the Piazza Fontana massacre.
I don't remember...
I was only informed of the facts. I couIdn't know about that.
You remember meeting Gelli?
I don't remember, I don't remember, I don't remember.
De Gasperi said of you: "He's so capable at everything,
he could become capable of anything."
Leave De Gasperi out of this.
I met Gelli briefly in Frosinone.
He was a manager of the Permaflex mattress company.
Years Iater, I saw him in Argentina and thought,
"He looks like the manager of Permaflex."
Carlo Bordoni, Sindona's son-in-law, and Mrs. Calvi accuse you
of being the master of the P2 lodge, not Gelli.
I'd never have settIed for being master ofjust one lodge.
Mrs. Calvi made that accusation years ago.
I wrote to her expressing my sympathy for her grief
and imploring her not to foster such scandals.
The Christian Democrats did all they could to save Moro.
It was one of the most agonizing things I've ever experienced.
It's one thing to fight political battles,
but to say that we didn't do everything possible to save Moro...
That is truly...
I've made many mistakes in my life, but I never had Mafia ties.
Never! Ever!
A man is here today
who once had the courage to say to Pope John XXIII,
"Excuse me, Your Holiness, but you don't know the Vatican."
He was right.
Giulio Andreotti is here with us today.
The committee has given the go-ahead.
There will be a trial.
REBIBBIA PRISON MAXIMUM SECURITY COURTROOM
Here he is!
He's coming.
Mr. Riina, have you ever met Giulio Andreotti?
Have you ever kissed him?
Have you ever met Senator Andreotti?
Today's a beautiful day.
- Do you feel safe in prison? - We're safe anywhere.
- We who? - What do you expect from the court?
Only good things.
- Do you know the turncoat Mutolo? - No.
- And Senator Andreotti? - That's enough, back off.
May I have some sparkling water, please?
Pecorelli said he had Moro's complete memoirs
and that they contained revelations about Andreotti.
Once, around two in the morning,
General Dalla Chiesa came to see me
with a manuscript of about 50 pages that Moro had written.
He said he was going to give it to Andreotti the next day.
Yes, that's what he said.
The news is false and slanderous.
I never met Ignazio Salvo or Riina.
If Di Maggio recognizes Salvo's house, it's his business.
Come on, Senator, tell the truth.
Who induced you to accuse me? We've never met.
Sure we have. I'm talking about stuff that I saw myseIf.
They got Riina because of this.
My conscience is at peace. Do the same for yours.
My client will not be subjected to such tones.
That will be all, Di Maggio.
- Let's continue. - No.
First I'd like my statement to be minuted.
Because even though I recognize that aII men are equaI,
I feel deeply humiliated
by a confrontation with a Mafioso, even if he's a turncoat.
How are you, Premier?
So-so... And you?
Basically, I'm bored.
Basically,
so am I.
Goodbye, Premier.
Goodbye.
Premier...
Don't slouch.
Italian cuisine is delicious, especially the Roman dishes.
- Know how this sauce got its name? - Yes, I know.
Giulio, you're good at listening, making wisecracks;
you have perseverance, the ability to concentrate and to hoId out.
But that's it.
They depict you as cunning, cuItured, very inteIIigent.
I say that's not the case.
What's made you so critical suddenly?
Nothing, just the need to establish the truth occasionally.
A need you've never had.
You live longer without needs.
Another wisecrack.
My blood will spill upon you.
People know you, and I didn't get rich from politics,
but they think that power is what interested us for 40 years.
They think it makes us happy, maintaining our positions.
They forget, or pretend to forget, that we actually saved their lives.
They forget the Soviet threat was real and close by.
We let Aldo Moro die.
And if I have grey hair and liver spots on my skin,
it's because while we let Moro die,
I was aware of it.
What about you, Giulio?
Do you remember that socialist, Nenni?
Enthusiastic, passionate.
He said, "I'm going to put the national railway back on track."
I said, "In the madhouse, those who don't claim to be Napoleon,
cIaim they'II put the national railway back on track."
Nenni and I hated each other.
But we esteemed and respected each other,
both of us.
It's not like that today.
Don't be disheartened by the inquiry into Pecorelli's death.
It's funny.
I'm disheartened by little things, not serious accusations.
You know what discourages me?
The news that I've been removed as president of The Music Society.
I'II Iose my Iectureship at the Institute of Ciceronian Studies
and perhaps even the honorary degrees.
I always thought my vanity was a great defect.
- But I'm comforted by talking to you. - It's nothing to do with vanity.
I'm from the provinces, from a humble background.
Cultural rather than political legitimization was more important.
I always preferred to be seen as a cuItured man
rather than a great statesman.
Francesco, I must confess something I've never dared admit to anyone.
Not even to myself.
- Tell me, Giulio. - But it must remain between us.
It wouldn't be the first time.
I've always had a secret.
A passion.
A passion for Mary Gassman, the famous actor's sister.
She never knew, and she never reciprocated.
I'm sure she wouldn't have, even if she'd known.
She was marvelous, Mary Gassman.
She took my sleep away, she took my breath away.
All I did at school was think about her.
Then I got married...
and I forgot her.
I must talk to you.
Starting today, we will apply the philosophy of St. Bernard:
See everything, tolerate a lot, correct one thing at a time.
Because if it's true that Christians must turn the other cheek,
it's also true that Jesus Christ, very intelligently,
only gave us two.
The Big Mafia Trial is about to begin.
I will defend myself with all my might.
And I have plenty of it.
To the activism of the Palermo public prosecutor's office,
we can add that of the Perugia public prosecutor's office.
Whilst gathering statements from Buscetta
about the existence of compromising writings by Moro
that GeneraI DaIIa Chiesa was supposed to have hidden
and that the murdered journaIist, Mino Pecorelli, was about to publish,
another request has been made for my committal to trial.
This new accusation claims
that I was the mandator in Mino Pecorelli's killing.
What can I say that my Iife has not already made clear?
Their theory worries me.
The prosecutors assert that a Mafioso cannot lie.
So this brotherhood's members are marked by the fact
that they can kill up to 20 people in Mannoia's case,
or, if they show restraint, 10 people in Di Maggio's case.
However, they can never be suspected of Iying.
The fact that I took a very hard line of action with the Mafia
in regard to government legislation, counts for nothing.
They said I pretended to be tough on the Mafia.
At this point, I'm starting to think they're in league.
What's your reaction to Evangelisti's statement?
I never had a secret meeting with DaIIa Chiesa.
If Franco claimed that, he must have dreamed it.
Is there a conspiracy against you?
Look, since all the turncoats are making false statements,
I must assume that they have an unknown prompter,
since a concurrence of this type wouId be most difficuIt.
Yes, because their statements all concur,
yet we know there's been no contact between them.
They're held by different bodies.
Doesn't the theory of a plot against you seem implausible?
Not at all.
Thank you, everyone.
Of course...
All right.
We can go.
Andreotti's trial begins.
The first hearing, in what has been called the "trial of the century,"
will start at 10am tomorrow.
As time goes by, I'm more convinced Andreotti is an extraterrestriaI.
We haven't understood that he belongs to a tradition
that has made the history of the Church immortal.
He carries 2,000 years of history inside him.
There's Christ's sacrifice, Pope Joan,
the lnquisition, the Borgias and diplomacy.
I'm not surprised that Andreotti
has been marked as mandator in the PecoreIIi murder.
ProbabIy, the issue of his magazine with the Senator's photo on the cover
is at the root of his death.
If Andreotti had wanted to kill everyone he found troublesome,
he'd have had to take on enemies much greater than PecoreIIi.
Maybe a whole cemetery wouldn't have been big enough.
Talleyrand comes to mind when you think of Andreotti.
T-A-L-L-
E-Y-R-A-N-D- full stop.
They both had the same objective, coIon, power, fuII stop.
But the complexity of Andreotti's character, comma...
makes up part, comma, if one can say, comma, of his greatness, fuII stop.
The greatness of the enigma, full stop.
Hello, Livia...
Yes, I got some sleep.
I love you, too.
Court is in session.
Be seated. We'll begin with the representatives.
Is the defendant Giulio Andreotti present?
Please sit down.
Defense attorneys Odoardo Ascari and Franco Coppi,
have substitutes been designated?
Andreotti remained indifferent, leaden, distant,
cocooned in his dark dream of glory.
He'd had to further his reactionary plan,
not disappoint the Communists, the Germans
and who knows who else.
What was the meaning, in the face of all this,
of the inconsolable grief of an old spouse,
the destruction of a family?
What did all this mean for Andreotti,
once he'd achieved the power to do evil
just as he'd aIways done eviI in his life?
All this meant nothing.
THE BIG MAFIA TRIAL
OCTOBER 23, the Tribunal acquits Giulio Andreotti
of Mafia association, because there are no incriminating facts.
MAY 2, Palermo Appeals Court cannot proceed against Andreotti
for the crime of Mafia association committed up until Spring
because it is already statute-barred.
The rest of the sentence is confirmed.
OCTOBER 15, the Cassation Court confirms the Appeal Court sentence.
PECORELLI TRIAL
APRIL 30, Public Prosecutors request life imprisonment
for Andreotti, Vitalone, Badalamenti and CaIo as mandators.
SEPTEMBER 24, the Assizes Court acquits aII defendants.
NOVEMBER 16, the Appeals Court sentences Andreotti and Badalamenti
to 24 years imprisonment.
OCTOBER 30, the Cassation Court overruIes the sentence.
Andreotti and BadaIamenti acquitted of Pecorelli murder.