WHEN recently asked to name the happiest day of his life, writes Paddy Agnew, the Italian Prime Minister elect, centre left leader Prof Romano Prodi replied "The day I was married, 26 years ago."
If it is old fashioned to believe in family and country, then Prof Prodi is old fashioned. The man who yesterday won an unexpected Italian general election victory for the left is, at first glance, an unlikely candidate to head a coalition dominated by the former Italian Communist party (now Democratic Left).
An economist by training, a devout Catholic by faith and ii former Christian Democrat by association, Prof Prodi (56), is anything but a "red under the bed". That very track record, of course, and its obvious lack of conformity with Marxism Leninism, were precisely why he was chosen to lead the left.
When Prof Prodi's candidacy was first announced in February last year, many leftist sympathisers went into a serious depression, convinced that, despite the Professor's obvious talents, his slightly school masterish manner as well as his often complex thought patterns would prove insuperable handicaps.
Surrounded by scepticism within his own centre left camp and armed only with his American style campaign bus, Prof Prodi has proved them all wrong. With his bus and his bicycle, he staged a campaign that was the total antithesis of the slick, televisual campaign mounted by his opposite number, centre right leader Mr Silvio Berlusconi.
Part of the reason for the centre left's election victory is Prof Prodi's ability to convince the electorate of his moral integrity. This especially shows up against a candidate, Mr Berlusconi, who is currently facing three judicial proceedings for corruption and whose seven months in government in 1994 proved little short of disastrous.
Prof Prodi served briefly as an Industry Minister under Mr Giulio Andreolli in 1978 before two successful terms as president of the state holdings giant, IRI.
Those who know Prof Prodi well say that throughout his year long election campaign, he has been motivated by a genuine desire to serve his country. Originally, it was felt that his excessively goody two shoes appearance would prove a handicap. In the end, his refusal to kick and gouge with Mr Berlusconi, but rather to concentrate on sending a positive message perhaps proved a winning electoral card. The centre left victory may mean that millions of Italians recognised an honest politician when they saw one and, accordingly, voted him into office.