The Mogul Versus the Mayor

On how he would react if one of his children declared himself a homosexual:
I'd surround him or her with love even more because I'd know the difficulties this could mean [to live] in society. I'd consider it as a fact of nature, surely he or she would not be guilty.

On where he'll be in 10 years:
I don't know. If you want to interview me in 10 years you'll have to call me and we'll set an appointment in a place that suits both of us. For me, power is not important. I'm fulfilled. I have reached a point where I had 56,000 people working for me. I have wonderful sons and daughters. Now I'm in politics. I'm the only one who can keep together the center-right, and there's no one else. Those who are now part of it could not hold together the coalition. Again, I don't know. Ring me in 10 years' time.

WALTER VELTRONI 
On Barack Obama:
I, like a lot of Americans, was struck by Obama at the Democratic convention four years ago. I began to follow him, and I met him in Washington. I wrote the preface of his book for the Italian translation. For me, Obama seems like a man of our time. Not just because he is young, or that he is black and a real representative of the United States, but also because he symbolizes a big change in America. But for me, he is also a man of ideas. He can think outside the old confines, and he can also carry a strong message about the real problems America faces. I like him a lot.

On Italy's role be with the Arab world:
We have always had an obvious role. First, we are here geographically. Italy should play a coordinated role for Europe, not as a single country. We should open a dialog about peace, about illegal immigration, about development and growth. We can play an important role but it has to be coordinated with the whole European continent.

On the how to fight the Mafia:
I am convinced that [Sicily] is capable of being extraordinarily productive. The statistics are overwhelming that this is an underused resource. For this reason, we have to cut out the Mafia.

In the past we have made a lot of mistakes. The Mafia today is much weaker than it has been in the past. As an organization it is weaker thanks to law enforcement but also because the Sicilian society has changed and has stood up to the Mafia. It is a movement that is very interesting and that is working. The national government can help, but the local government has not backed up the efforts.