All eyes on Vinci’s post as Italian elections draw near

Date: 28/03/1996

Is Julian Priestley's patience about to be rewarded?

The long-serving pretender to the European Parliament's civil service throne had hoped to take over as secretary-general 16 months ago, when present incumbent Italian Enrico Vinci was a hot favourite to move up the road to become a Commissioner.

Political shenanigans in Rome put paid to that, but now Vinci is running for office in the Italian general election on 21 April under the flag of the centre-left Olive Tree coalition.

Who will Vinci be up against? None other than former Berlusconi Foreign Minister Antonio Martino, the man who let Vinci down when the European Commissionership was handed out by the then government in late 1995.

Martino is on Berlusconi's centre-right Freedom Alliance list and although the Italian electoral system means the two men are not in a knock-out contest, the political clash has intrigued observers.

The Martino family, Antonio and his father Gaetano, who gave Vinci his first job, have been the secretary-general's patrons for 40 years and there has been no great fall-out between the two sides.

Vinci, 64, says simply: “We have different political views.”