the 1971 presidential election remains still today the longest presidential election in the Italian republican history. Leone's presidency was considered quite revolutionary for the role held by his wife, Vittoria. Before her, the wife of the Italian presidents had always been on the sidelines, not involved in the Italian political life. However, Vittoria Leone completely changed this role and had been widely regarded as the most prominent first lady of the Italian Republic. During his presidency, he had to face an extremely complex political and social situation. Already in the first months of the seven-year term, he had to approve the early dissolution of the Chambers, for the first time since the birth of the Republic. This decision was taken by Leone with the approval of most of the political parties, but it was accompanied by the choice to entrust the management of the electoral phase, not to the resigning coalition government of Emilio Colombo, but to a one-party government led by Giulio Andreotti. For this choice, Leone was heavily criticised by the opposition. With a total of 152 votes in favor and 158 against, the government did not gain the confidence of the Senate and was forced to resign after only 9 days. After Andreotti's resignation in July 1973, Leone gave to Mariano Rumor the task of forming a new centre-left cabinet, which however lasted only a year, when, in November, Aldo Moro became once again Prime Minister. During Moro's two-years rule, the DC tried to open a dialogue with the PCI of Enrico Berlinguer, in a political phase known as Historic Compromise, with the aim of bringing the communists into the government's majority. Leone, as a member of the party's right-wing, did not approve Moro's move, however he never openly opposed it. Kidnapping of Aldo Moro On the morning of 16 March 1978, the day on which the new Andreotti's cabinet was supposed to have undergone a confidence vote in the Italian Parliament, the car of Aldo Moro, then-president of the Christian Democracy, was assaulted by a group of Red Brigades (BR) in Via Fani in Rome. Firing automatic weapons, the terrorists killed Moro's bodyguards (two Carabinieri in Moro's car and three policemen in the following car) and kidnapped him. During the kidnapping, Leone was in favour of a negotiation with the terrorists, while Prime Minister Andreotti strongly opposed it: the BR proposed an exchange of prisoners to