Page "Benedetto Cairoli" Paragraph 3

The prestige personally acquired by Benedetto Cairoli was augmented by that of his four brothers, who fell during the wars of the Risorgimento, and by the heroic conduct of their mother.

His refusal of all compensation or distinction further endeared him to the Italian people.

When in 1876 the Left came into power, Cairoli, then a deputy of sixteen years standing, became parliamentary leader of his party, and, after the fall of Depretis, Nicotera and Crispi, formed his first cabinet in March 1878 with a Francophile and Irredentist policy.