On 23 August 2007 he died in Rome Bruno Trentin for the aftermath of a fall from his bicycle while walking on the roads of the mountains he loved and in which he always looked for a hauberk to protect him from the hardships of living. As I am about to recall his memory, I am reminded of a meeting that took place last spring with two young trade unionists. I was participating in a conference organized by the University of Modena on occupational safety issues. These two guys approached me and introduced themselves.
I guess my notoriety as a talk show goer intrigued them more than my history as a trade unionist now so distant in time as to be forgotten. One of the two worked at the patronage of the CGIL, the other was an official of the provincial Fiom. During the conversation, my trade union experiences spread over the course of a few decades came out, together with the various positions held in their own Confederation.
At one point the Fiom executive looked at me in a different way, as if suddenly he was faced with a piece of history that he had only heard about, perhaps from his father. ''So you met Bruno Trentin?'', He asked me with a mix of surprise and admiration. It was more of an observation than a question. I felt privileged, because not only had I met a great leader, but I had worked with him both in the national secretariat of Fiom and in that of the CGIL. That boy was right: I am someone who knew Bruno Trentin.
This definition is enough to convince me – now close to pronouncing the words of old Simeon: “nunc dimittis servum tuum, domine'' – that I have not wasted my life. I still remember the day I met Bruno. It was in the distant spring of 1965. I had landed at the Bologna Fiom with the batch of officials that the PSI was claiming to replace those who had moved to the PSIUP (I won't tell you more because it would be an unnecessarily long narrative).
A morning my secretary Floriano Sita He informed me that Bruno Trentin, then general secretary of Fiom (together with the socialist Piero Boni), would be present at the next meeting of the Management Committee. When the day of the meeting came I was introduced to Bruno, who was formally courteous. The debate took place in an atmosphere of great attention. The more experienced officials than I intervened in the tone of someone taking a graduation exam. Then came the fateful moment of conclusions.
Trentin – over time I realized that this was his way of dealing with problems – began with a detailed analysis of the political and economic situation (who spends the most time on an analysis today?), he lambasted union limits and encouraged us to face exemplary struggles on some points, including the working environment and winning the recognition of the company union sections as a contractual agent. Over many years I have introjected Bruno's reports and interventions; I think I could name the occasions on which those particular words were said.
Last year, part of his secret diaries were published, referring to the period of his General Secretariat of the Confederation (1988-1994). In truth, the judgments concerning me (at the time I was a member of that secretariat) are not very flattering. But I didn't take it. Indeed if I ever happen to meet Bruno in the Elysian Fields of former trade unionists (assuming I was allowed to access it), I would make sure to apologize to him.
