Former televised newspaper presenter, he was at the head of the Assembly since 2019. His term expired this month, half of the five-year legislature.
Le Monde
The President of the European Parliament, the Italian Social Democrat David Sassoli, died in the night from Monday 10 to Tuesday, January 11 in Italy, at the age of 65, said his spokesman. “David Sassoli died on January 11 at 1:15 am to the Cro (Oncology Reference Center) of Aviano, Italy, where he was hospitalized” since the end of December, announced on Twitter Roberto Cup, the spokesman David Sassoli. “The date and place of funeral will be communicated in the coming hours,” he added.
Monday In the afternoon, his spokesperson announced the hospitalization of David Sassoli “because of a serious complication due to a malfunction of the immune system” and the cancellation of its official activities.
Having suffered by the past of leukemia, David Sassoli had already been hospitalized this fall for pneumonia that had kept it away from Parliament for several weeks. The mandate of this former journalist presenter of televised newspapers in Italy, at the head of the Assembly since 2019, expired this month, half of the five-year legislature. A mandate dropped to the general surprise by the one who had entered politics ten years earlier under the colors of the center left and for which he totally involved.
Discretion and iron hand
Low inclined to the bursts but holding a hand closes the debates in the hemicycle, he took the presidency of the European Parliament after dealings between great political forces and governments for the presidencies of the three European institutions. The Commission went to EPP (pro-European right) with Ursula von der Leyen, the Liberal Council with Charles Michel and Parliament to Socialists with David Sassoli.
His nationality, his party – second component of the social democratic group – and his knowledge of the institution, of which he was one of the vice-presidents during the previous Parliament, had made him, at the last minute, the man of the situation.
He saw his term of two years and a half leaded by the health crisis. But the attention paid to its teams, put into teleworking, its sense of organization, with a remote voting system, and its ability to resist the French pressures to bring back the elected officials in Strasbourg, the seat of Parliament, have valued respect for the institution. Sign of solidarity in the middle of the pandemic, he had made available the deserted premises of Parliament, both in Strasbourg and Brussels, for the preparation of meals for families in need and install a CVIV-19 screening center.
Given leukemia, his health was his Achilles heel. Big smoking and good living, he had been hospitalized in a serious state last September, because of a pneumonia that had kept it away from Parliament for several weeks. On December 26, he had been hospitalized again “because of a serious complication due to a malfunction of the immune system”, according to his spokesman.