I am not a newcomer, you know, so I want to be judged for what I did when I was prime minister last time in Italy and president of the European Commission for more than five years.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I am a partisan and artisan of Europe. But I draw the lessons of my experience in government.
I hope that my government can help change Italian mentality.
I've worked as a diplomat before I became a politician.
I want to be judged on my own merits.
I would like to become the prime minister, do the job for two years, and then leave and devote myself to public work.
I very much wanted to be editor of the 'New Statesman!' But I never wanted to be prime minister, except maybe as a little boy.
I might be popular, but that is not sufficient in a parliamentary democracy set-up. One has to assess every chief minister, his success and rating in terms of how far he has succeeded in developing his colleagues.
I came in to make a difference, to be a minister, to make policy.
I serve at the discretion of the prime minister.
Prime Minister, I see you've already mastered the essential craft of the European politician, namely, the ability to say one thing in this chamber and a very different thing to your home electorate.