05-15-2004, 03:54 PM
Italians greet Sonia's victory
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Italians Greet Sonia Victory With Pride
Denis Barnett, Agence France Presse
ORBASSANO, Italy, 15 May 2004 â Italy greeted Sonia Gandhiâs triumph with a mixture of pride and apprehension yesterday as her family rejoiced in the return of Indiaâs most powerful political dynasty and recalled its tragic past.
The people of this quiet suburb of Turin will always claim her as their own, even if she has long traded the political innocence of her espresso days for the political tumult of India.
Mayor of Orbassano Carlo Marroni said he had sent a telegram of congratulations. âWe are proud of her victory,â he said. âIf she becomes prime minister, we will have a party.â
As the dust settled on an election battle a world away, the media briefly laid siege to her childhood home, but family members at the mustard colored three-story house were keeping a low profile yesterday.
Gandhiâs mother Paola, recently returned from India, lives here, but the doorbells by the garden gate, under the overhanging rose bushes, went unanswered.
Italyâs newspapers trumpeted her and the Congress partyâs triumph in Indiaâs elections, but for at least one member of her family, the Gandhi name casts a long and fearful shadow over this verdant little town.
âWe are worried and itâs pointless to hide it, we fear for her life,â said Gandhiâs niece, Aruna Vinci.
âBut auntie is an exceptional woman. Sheâll face up to anything, whatever happens, and remain in India, continuing to believe in her mission,â she told the daily La Repubblica.
âSonia is an admirable woman. They wiped out half her family, and despite that, instead of returning to Italy, she stayed there with her children, because now she feels (like) a true Gandhi. Sheâs a foreigner, but is accepted by the Indians. And the vote demonstrates that,â she added.
Soniaâs victory will not change the life of her family in Orbassano, though.
âWeâll go on as before, as we have always have, even when Rajiv was in government,â said Aruna, daughter of Soniaâs elder sister Anuska.
Throwing discretion to the winds, Gandhiâs aunt, Dorina Maino, told Italyâs national Ansa news agency that her niece âhas got herself into a nice messâ.
Gandhiâs husband Rajiv, scion of Indiaâs political first family, was assassinated in 1991 when they had been married for23 years, and Maino disclosed that her Italian relatives had tried to persuade her not to run for office.
But, the aunt went on, âI hope this great victory will help her get over the death of her husband. He was a marvelous boy and we all wish her success in her new venture,â she added.
Born in1946 , Sonia Maino, daughter of a middle class builder, married into Indiaâs most powerful family in 1968. Her mother in law, Indiaâs Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was assassinated in1984 .
The girl from Orbassano then became Indiaâs first lady when her husband and Indiraâs son, Rajiv, took over on his motherâs death.
A reluctant politician, Sonia Gandhi took over the leadership of the Congress Party in1998 .
The familyâs local newsagent, Giuseppe Tognin, was proud of Gandhiâs political pluck but also fearful now that she was a political target.
âSheâs a great woman, and her victory is a great thing for Orbassano. But we hope she doesnât end up like the others, like her mother-in-law and her husband.
âOf course, itâs on our minds, given whatâs already happened. Letâs hope history doesnât repeat itself.â
âGandhis never seem to die in their beds,â Pierluigi Sacci, a local tobacconist, said. âSo, of course, thereâs a lot of concern for her here, given what happened to the others.â
The63 -year-old remembers Sonia as âan outgoing, jovial girl, though I havenât seen her for years now,â as he proudly displays a photograph of his wedding in1965 , with Gandhi and her elder sister flanking bride and groom.
Itâs nearly 40 years and a world away in time since Sacci remembers a young Sonia as a âlittle girl who used to come in for a âgelatoâ with her friendsâ.
Now, for business daily Il Sole 24 Ore, the local girl has become a champion of democracy. âIn that strange country of sadhus and engineers, Hindus and Muslims, exists that priceless good for which we Westerners claim to be fighting in the Middle East â democracy.â<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Italians Greet Sonia Victory With Pride
Denis Barnett, Agence France Presse
ORBASSANO, Italy, 15 May 2004 â Italy greeted Sonia Gandhiâs triumph with a mixture of pride and apprehension yesterday as her family rejoiced in the return of Indiaâs most powerful political dynasty and recalled its tragic past.
The people of this quiet suburb of Turin will always claim her as their own, even if she has long traded the political innocence of her espresso days for the political tumult of India.
Mayor of Orbassano Carlo Marroni said he had sent a telegram of congratulations. âWe are proud of her victory,â he said. âIf she becomes prime minister, we will have a party.â
As the dust settled on an election battle a world away, the media briefly laid siege to her childhood home, but family members at the mustard colored three-story house were keeping a low profile yesterday.
Gandhiâs mother Paola, recently returned from India, lives here, but the doorbells by the garden gate, under the overhanging rose bushes, went unanswered.
Italyâs newspapers trumpeted her and the Congress partyâs triumph in Indiaâs elections, but for at least one member of her family, the Gandhi name casts a long and fearful shadow over this verdant little town.
âWe are worried and itâs pointless to hide it, we fear for her life,â said Gandhiâs niece, Aruna Vinci.
âBut auntie is an exceptional woman. Sheâll face up to anything, whatever happens, and remain in India, continuing to believe in her mission,â she told the daily La Repubblica.
âSonia is an admirable woman. They wiped out half her family, and despite that, instead of returning to Italy, she stayed there with her children, because now she feels (like) a true Gandhi. Sheâs a foreigner, but is accepted by the Indians. And the vote demonstrates that,â she added.
Soniaâs victory will not change the life of her family in Orbassano, though.
âWeâll go on as before, as we have always have, even when Rajiv was in government,â said Aruna, daughter of Soniaâs elder sister Anuska.
Throwing discretion to the winds, Gandhiâs aunt, Dorina Maino, told Italyâs national Ansa news agency that her niece âhas got herself into a nice messâ.
Gandhiâs husband Rajiv, scion of Indiaâs political first family, was assassinated in 1991 when they had been married for23 years, and Maino disclosed that her Italian relatives had tried to persuade her not to run for office.
But, the aunt went on, âI hope this great victory will help her get over the death of her husband. He was a marvelous boy and we all wish her success in her new venture,â she added.
Born in1946 , Sonia Maino, daughter of a middle class builder, married into Indiaâs most powerful family in 1968. Her mother in law, Indiaâs Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was assassinated in1984 .
The girl from Orbassano then became Indiaâs first lady when her husband and Indiraâs son, Rajiv, took over on his motherâs death.
A reluctant politician, Sonia Gandhi took over the leadership of the Congress Party in1998 .
The familyâs local newsagent, Giuseppe Tognin, was proud of Gandhiâs political pluck but also fearful now that she was a political target.
âSheâs a great woman, and her victory is a great thing for Orbassano. But we hope she doesnât end up like the others, like her mother-in-law and her husband.
âOf course, itâs on our minds, given whatâs already happened. Letâs hope history doesnât repeat itself.â
âGandhis never seem to die in their beds,â Pierluigi Sacci, a local tobacconist, said. âSo, of course, thereâs a lot of concern for her here, given what happened to the others.â
The63 -year-old remembers Sonia as âan outgoing, jovial girl, though I havenât seen her for years now,â as he proudly displays a photograph of his wedding in1965 , with Gandhi and her elder sister flanking bride and groom.
Itâs nearly 40 years and a world away in time since Sacci remembers a young Sonia as a âlittle girl who used to come in for a âgelatoâ with her friendsâ.
Now, for business daily Il Sole 24 Ore, the local girl has become a champion of democracy. âIn that strange country of sadhus and engineers, Hindus and Muslims, exists that priceless good for which we Westerners claim to be fighting in the Middle East â democracy.â<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->