Our politician stands out for the nobility of his feelings and the dignity of his external bearing. He speaks in a leisurely manner and never loses his serenity. Affable and conciliatory, there is nothing vulgar about him.

When he became head of the Government, he renounced to almost all social life; he was hardly seen in parties or celebrations. He made an exception for the wedding of his cousin NN: he attended the religious ceremony, but did not stay for the banquet.

He spent fifteen years at the head of the State, and at no time did he succumb to the temptations of corruption. In his private life he adopted an extremely austere tone, which provoked more than one complaint from his wife, children and other relatives. At the same time, he devoted a considerable amount of money to the relief of the indigent. His reputation was unblemished, so that he did not even have to reject bribery proposals: the eventual bribers did not even try, aware of the futility of their pretensions.

In his task of government he did not limit himself to following the people, from agreement with the data offered by the scrutinizers of the dominant opinions. Demagogy did not go with him. He refused to flatter the citizenry and acted like a good teacher, who persuades with sound reasons. If he noticed that people were going for the easy way out, he knew how to be strong enough to make them see what was in the common good.

When his country was involved in military conflicts, he acted prudently, without embarking on reckless adventures, even when public opinion seemed to encourage them. He managed to curb these overflowing impulses and to contain the urge to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

He knew how to take advantage of the years of economic prosperity and surplus in the public accounts to develop an ambitious program of public works and artistic monuments. He hired the best artists and, in an astonishingly short deadline , promoted the creation of works destined to be the admiration of future generations. Never has so much of such quality been done in such a short time.

When everything was smiling at him and he seemed to have the world under his feet, tragedy struck his family hard. In a short span of time his children, his sister and almost all of his relatives and friends died. Even then he did not lose his greatness of spirit, and knew how to maintain his composure in the face of adversity. After suffering an electoral setback, he left politics and retired to private life. His absence was brief: the citizens yearned for him and called him back to become position of the Government. He did not feel very encouraged to return, but the people apologized to him for his ingratitude and he agreed to take charge of the affairs of the State again.

He had such power as no one had ever had before him, and yet he did not treat any enemy staff as an irreconcilable adversary. He had to live through eventful times, but in the midst of the fiercest conflicts he knew how to maintain moderation and a clear vision.

I am speaking of Pericles, the leader of the Athenian democracy in the 5th century B.C., as described by Plutarch. Historians have given his name, "the century of Pericles," to that glorious epoch, not only of Athens, but of humanity in general. It may be argued that Pericles is a long way off - twenty-five centuries ago - and that the circumstances of political life are very different today. True, but his case sample shows that the ideal of the successful and honest politician is not impossible.

In view of the imminent elections, we have the task of finding -and voting for- those potential Pericles, both at regional and municipal level. Of course, an electoral system of open or unblocked lists would facilitate their election. However, we can pay the toll of the closed list if it helps them to enter city councils and parliaments. Politicians do not have the sympathy of the people, but all is not lost: there are also honest and capable candidates, willing to work with abnegation for the public thing. With our support, they can at least try.