A delegation from the Sammarinese Christian Democratic Party (PDCS) took part on 13 October in Rome, at the European Parliament Office, in the presentation of the volume “La Democrazia Cristiana, il conservatorismo e la sfida degli estremismi” (“Christian Democracy, conservatism and the challenge of extremism”), published by Rubbettino and edited by Klaus Welle and Federico Ottavio Reho. The Italian edition includes a chapter by Lorenzo Muccioli dedicated to San Marino and the PDCS.
The delegation was made up of political secretary Gian Carlo Venturini, head of international relations Lorenzo Bugli, and secretary general of the Young Christian Democrats Emanuele Cangini.
The event was organised by the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, the political foundation of the European People’s Party. Speakers included Carlo Corazza, Antonio Polito, Gaetano Quagliariello, Federico Ottavio Reho and Klaus Welle, with Flavia Giacobbe moderating. “At the heart of the discussion were the future of the European centre-right, the relationship between the popular and conservative traditions, and the defence of the democratic order born after 1945,” the PDCS statement reports.
The book brings together contributions from politicians and scholars of the popular political family, including Manfred Weber, Antonio Tajani and Mikuláš Dzurinda. The Italian edition was produced in collaboration between the Martens Centre, the De Gasperi Foundation, the Luigi Sturzo Institute, the Esperia Circle and the Santo Marino Foundation.
According to the interpretation offered in the statement, “its thesis is clear: the real dividing line does not run between Popular, Conservative and Liberal forces, but between those who believe in Europe and those who do not believe in our common European home.”
Alongside Antonio Campati’s chapter on Italian Christian democracy, the volume includes Muccioli’s account of the Sammarinese experience. The statement describes San Marino as “the only place where the Christian democratic tradition has been maintained without interruption,” recalling the acknowledgment of this continuity in Reho’s preface.
“In Italy, Christian Democracy came to an end; in San Marino, the PDCS, founded in 1948, has endured through the decades as a living party, active within the institutions and within society,” the party states.
Linking this history to the current political debate, the PDCS reaffirms its core values: “In a world gripped by polarisation and conflict, the centrality of the individual, subsidiarity, the pursuit of the common good and the European choice remain the values of our democracy.”
