Italian general election; its main strength from that point would remain at the regional and local level. Berlinguer had an austere and modest but charismatic personality, and despite the difficulties that confronted the PCI during the Historic Compromise, he remained a popular politician, respected for his principles, conviction, and bold stands. He characterised the PCI as an honest party in Italy's corruption-ravaged politics, an image that preserved the party's reputation during the Mani pulite corruption scandals. He was characterised by Patrick McCarthy as "the last great communist leader in Western Europe", and remains identified with the causes of Eurocommunism, opposition to Soviet repression in Eastern Europe, and democratic change in Italy. Early political career The son of Mario Berlinguer and Maria Loriga, Enrico Berlinguer was born in Sassari on 25 May 1922 to a noble Sardinian family in a notable cultural context, with family ties and political contacts that would heavily influence his life and career. His surname is of Catalan origin, a reminder of the period when Sardinia was part of the dominions of the Crown of Aragon. He was a second cousin of Francesco Cossiga (who was a leader of Christian Democracy and later became President of the Italian Republic) and both were relatives of Antonio Segni, another Christian Democrat leader and President of the Republic. His maternal grandfather, Giovanni Loriga, and Francesco Cossiga's maternal grandfather, Antonio Zanfarino, were half-brothers on their mother side. Enrico's grandfather, Enrico Berlinguer Sr., was the founder of the Sardinian newspaper La Nuova Sardegna and a personal friend of Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini, whom he had helped in his attempts through his parliamentary work to improve the sad conditions on the island. In 1937, Berlinguer had his first contacts with Sardinian anti-fascists and formally entered the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1943, soon becoming the secretary of the Sassari section. The following year a riot exploded in the town and he was involved in the disorders and arrested, but was discharged after three months of prison. Immediately after his detention ended, his father brought him to Salerno, the town in which the Royal family and the government had taken refuge after the armistice between Italy and the Allies. In Salerno, his father introduced him to Palmiro Togliatti, the most important leader of the Communist Party. Togliatti sent Berlinguer back to Sardinia to prepare for his political career. At the end of 1944,