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Friday, May 14, 2004

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International - India & World

Jubilation in Sonia's native town

By Vaiju Naravane

PARIS, MAY 13. The electoral victory of the Congress party and the possibility that Ms Sonia Gandhi could become India's next Prime Minister has generated huge interest in Italy. Most newspapers are planning to devote special pages to the results of the Indian elections. Correspondents have been sent to Orbassano, the small 6,000-strong village near Turin where Ms Gandhi grew up, to get the reactions of local residents.

In Orbassano, the mainly blue-collar township where Ms Gandhi grew up, there was jubilation. Major Carlo Marroni, the Mayor of Orbassano told The Hindu: "We are extremely happy and proud that a daughter of our commune is poised to become the Prime Minister of India. We have learnt the results and are waiting to see further developments. I have sent messages of congratulations to her and to the Maino family. Once she is appointed Prime Minister and is confirmed, we will hold a celebratory party."

Sylvia, whose mother was a classmate of Ms Gandhi at the convent of Maria Ausiliatrice in Giaveno, near Orbassano told The Hindu over the telephone: "I am so happy for her. When I was small, my mother would tell us stories about how Sonia had married the son of India's Prime Minister and we always referred to her as the Cinderella of Orbassano. Then she became a widow, and we felt really sad. At last, fortune is smiling on her again and we in Orbassano are extremely pleased and proud. I hope she succeeds and we wish her all the very best.

"There is tremendous interest here since Sonia Gandhi is a daughter of the soil and people are evidently sensitive to that. There is a feeling of great pride and happiness at her success. People here admire Sonia. They feel she has suffered a great deal with the assassinations of her husband and mother-in-law and they admire her courage in sticking it out, of giving herself totally to her adopted country," Claudio Gallo of the Turin-based daily La Stampa said. In addition to electoral results and analyses, La Stampa will be featuring stories and pictures of the local girl making good.

Mr. Gallo feels the victory of the Congress and its allies signifies that the India Shining slogan did not cut any ice with the voters. The generally Left-leaning daily from Turin, home to Italy's automobile giant, Fiat, said the vote was a clear rejection of the BJP's intolerance towards minorities — an indication that they did not want to see another Gujarat happen again. According to the paper, there appears to be a Leftward shift across India, with exceptions like Rajasthan.

Even in States such as Kerala, where the Congress was in power, there has been a Leftward shift with the Communists being elected, the paper said.

"We welcome this development. It means we can hope for more secular policies from the new Indian Government. The computer revolution did not touch all sections of society. Andhra Pradesh, which threw out a very techie Government recorded the maximum number of suicides amongst farmers and weavers. In a sense, this is the revenge of poor India over the rich minority," Mr. Gallo said.

Guido Rampoldi of the daily La Repubblica told

The Hindu in a telephone interview: "We are very proud of the fact that Ms Gandhi has succeeded and India should be proud too. It shows an openness and maturity on the part of the Indian electorate that would be hard to find anywhere. I cannot, for instance see a woman of Indian origin becoming a head of government in Europe. But of course, she's not really Italian any more. Quite understandably, she wants to cut ties with Italy, so as not to offer any ammunition that her enemies could exploit. The BJP tried but failed to make her foreign origins an issue and I congratulate the Indian electorate on its wisdom."

In times of stress, women, much more than men, show an inner strength. It was perhaps her personal tragedy that gave Ms Gandhi the courage and strength to remain in her country of adoption and strive on, Mr Rampoldi said. "Of course, it is evident that the BJP was extremely short-sighted. The computer party is over. It is not because one area of the economy is working well that the country as a whole can be called a success story as the BJP claimed," he added.

Paolo Lepri of the Corriere Della Sera, one of Italy's most respected dailies, said the events in Iraq had edged the Indian elections off the front pages in Italy.

"But this is major news. Not just because Ms Gandhi is of Italian origin but also because of the unexpected nature of the victory.

Polls have been predicting a hung Parliament. But the Congress party's performance is stronger than anything anyone had predicted.

In addition to the results and vote analysis, we shall be doing a long article on the return of the Gandhi family," he said.

Diplomats in Rome said the results took them by surprise. Calls to the Indian embassy in Rome multiplied as news of Ms Gandhi's victory spread. Gurjit Singh, the Deputy Chief of Mission told The Hindu: "With unexpected results, the interest in India's elections has suddenly gone up."

But the most telling comment came from Bruno Crimi of Panorama magazine, who covered the Indian elections for his weekly.

"We both have Italian Prime Ministers now, except yours, I think, is better than mine." Panorama incidentally, is owned by Italy's Prime Minister and media magnate, Silvio Berlusconi.

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