Kategori: #14

From the struggle for abortion rights in Italy to the campaign for a more united Europe, Emma Bonino treated freedom as a responsibility, not a settled achievement. A personal remembrance of a politician whose causes mattered more to her than their electoral rewards.

By Chiara Gelmini

I remember Emma Bonino from Italian television long before I properly understood who she was.

Growing up in Italy in the 1990s, I would see this small, determined woman on screen with an unmistakable voice and presence. On television, so often dominated by entertainment, spectacle and frivolity, she stood out to me. She was serious without being solemn, stubborn without seeming particularly interested in pleasing anyone, and above all independent in thought.