Meeting with Roberto D’Orazio, the bubbling ex-union leader.
Roberto D’Orazio: a mouth, a earthy accent, rolling “r”, a roundness that contrasted with the virulence of his remarks. For years, he monopolized the media with punchlines, mischievously playing with them: “ I announced that we were organizing the ‘Hellish Night’ in Brussels. And that we would smash anything that cost more than 2,000 francs on Avenue Louise. “ It was a bluff, actually: “ But, in the meantime, I was handed the microphone and then I might get my real messages across. “he tells us with a burst of laughter and patting his prankster belly.
Union representative of the FGTB, he was the fiery leader of the fight to maintain activity within the Forges de Clabecq, declared bankrupt at the end of December 1996. It was, in Belgium, the first of the steel crises.
Roberto D’Orazio is also controversial. He is accused of violent altercations. The curator Alain Zenner appears in front of the cameras with a bloody face. A ratonnade of the workers for some, a few simple slaps for others. D’Orazio did not strike, but refused to convict the perpetrators.
(…)