The crowd shouted, "Enough, Enrico!" But he continued to the end. Despite his visibly exhausted state, nearly collapsing, he didn't stop speaking. He allowed himself a moment's rest, and with enormous effort, continued his speech.

They carried him away unable to stand. Because Enrico Berlinguer, on June 7, 1984, in Padua, suffered a stroke. And despite this, he didn't stop. He spoke of young people, women, work. Of the battles he believed were just and which he shared with millions of people. And he concluded his rally.

He died four days later of a cerebral hemorrhage. With him went a huge part of Politics with a capital "P." The clean, ethically sound kind. The kind that truly believed in what they said. The kind that wasn't discouraged by anything or anyone and, as Berlinguer demonstrated that day, never backed down. For no reason at all.

To him, in memory of a great man who was loved by millions of Italians of all political persuasions, even today my most moving thoughts remain.

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