On March 28 and 29, some 3.5 million Tuscans will go to the polls to elect Tuscany’s next regional president. Nine political parties have candidates in these regional elections, giving their support to five presidential candidates.
Tuscany is not the only region going to the polls this spring. Thirteen of Italy’s 20 regions will be holding elections, including nine of the largest: Lombardy, Campania, Veneto, Lazio, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Apulia, Tuscany and Calabria.
In these elections, the country’s two largest coalitions, Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PDL) and the Democratic Party (PD) led by Pier Luigi Bersani, will vie for the majority of the votes. Many of the smaller parities, both on the right and left, have decided to join with whichever of the larger coalitions that represent their stance on the political spectrum.
Following are brief profiles of each of Tuscany’s candidates for regional president. For general voting information, see forthcoming TF 119.
Candidate Profiles
(in alphabetical order)
Alfonso De Virgiliis
Political party: I Radicali (Bonino-Panella ticket)
Allied parties: None
Age: 72 years
Place of birth: Roseto degli Abruzzi (Teramo)
Profession: Lawyer and entrepreneur
Political experience: De Virgiliis graduated with a degree in jurisprudence from the University of Bologna. After working as a general agent at INA ASSITALIA, he moved to Florence in 1990, where he has lived ever since. He has been very active in Florence’s culture and business sectors. He is currently the president of the Fondazione Premio Galileo 2000, president of the Banca Interregionale SpA, president of the Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina, board member of the Associazione Amici dell’Accademia della Crusca, board member of the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole, among others.
Campaign slogan: Tutta un’altra storia (‘A whole other story’).
Website: www.pp-comunicare.com/alfonso. Contains details on the Radical party’s general platform and contact information.
Just a few weeks after famed photographer Oliviero Toscani controversially decided not to run for the Tuscany presidency with the Radicals, party leaders Emma Bonino and Marco Pannella chose Angelo De Virgiliis, a well-known and well-respected public figure in Florence, as their candidate. A Tuscan by adoption, De Virgiliis is the only non-politician who has extensive experience in business as an entrepreneur. In addition, he currently holds leadership roles in the local and regional cultural sector, including the presidency of the prestigious Premio Galileo 2000. Although details on De Virgiliis’ specific programme have not yet been made public, it is assumed that it will mirror that of the broader Radical platform, which promises additional measures to safeguard the Tuscan landscape, more environmentally friendly planning in public works, and measures to ensure access to public housing for the needy. Also on the De Virgiliis ticket is Maria Grazie Beverini, who is running for regional vice president.
Francesco Bosi
Political party: Union of Christian Democrats (UDC)
Allied parties: None
Age: 63 years
Place of birth: Piacenza (Emilia-Romagna)
Profession: Politician
Political experience: A member Parliament since 1996, he is currently mayor of Rio Marina, in Elba Island. He is also the head of the UDC party in the Italian Chamber of Deputies. He is a member of the parliamentary assembly on NATO and the current vice president of the national defense and security commission. He served as a municipal councilor in Florence from 1975 to 1990 and was elected the regional councilor of Tuscany in 1990.
Campaign slogan: La Toscana al Centro (‘Tuscany at the center’).
Website: www.francescobosi.com. Contains programme details, full contact information, videos, blog, Facebook page.
Francesco Bossi is a distinguished politician and among the founding members of the current Catholic-leaning centrist party, UDC. The main points of his program focus on increasing social supports for Tuscan families, such as additional day care facilities and more tax breaks for larger families. He also wants to cut health costs and improve service, promising, for example, to ensure medical exams for the elderly within 30 days, not the typical three months. For public security, Bosi wants to increase video surveillance in residential and high-crime areas and believes that national and regional detention and expulsion centres for illegal migrants are necessary. His campaign pledges include more investment in research and innovation, improvements for transportation and infrastructure, and more public housing for young couples. Bosi’s vice president would be Anna Borgia, running with him on the same ticket.
Monica Faenzi
Political party: People of Freedom (PDL)
Allied parties: Nothern League
Age: 44 years
Place of birth: Grosseto
Profession: Politician
Political experience: Faenzi became the municipal councilor of culture and social services in Grosseto in the 1990s. In 2001, she was elected mayor of the seaside town of Castiglione della Pescaia, becoming its first female mayor. She was re-elected mayor in 2006, and still holds this role today.
Campaign slogan: Il coraggio di cambiare (‘The courage to change’).
Website: www.monicafaenzipresidente.it. Contains programme details, full contact information, videos, blog.
Faenzi has years of political experience in local administrations and is one of the main figures in the PDL on a regional and national level. Major features of her platform concern immigration and housing. She pledges to block the current regional legislation on immigration barring the opening of detention and expulsion centres, claiming they are necessary to ensure public safety and security. She also wants to revamp the law on the assignment and management of public housing. Several festivals and events are on Faenzi’s black list, including the Festa della Toscana. She proposes to replace the superintendency of peace and pardoning with a separate superintendency for agriculture. Faenzi’s vice president would be Riccardo Migliori, running with her in the same ticket.
Ilario Palmisani
Political party: Forza Nuova
Allied parties: None
Age: 40 years
Place of birth:
Profession: Politician
Political experience: Palmisani is currently Florence’s coordinator of Forza Nuova and a municipal councilor in Rignano sull-Arno, in the province of Florence.
Website: http://forzanuova.org/sezioni/toscana. Contains details on the Forza Nuova party’s general platform and contact information. For information on Palmesani’s platform, which hasn’t been presented yet, see the Forza Nuova Florence blog at http://fnfirenze.blogspot.com or the website mentioned above.
With the exception of Siena, Livorno, Prato and Pisa, the Forza Nuova party has provincial candidates throughout Tuscany. Palmisani, who started his political career with Alleanza Nazionale, is the current coordinator of the Forza Nuova party for the city of Florence and a city councilor in Rignano sull’Arno. Although details on Palmisani’s specific programme has not yet been made public, it is assumed to mirror that of the broader Forza Nuova platform. Also on the Palmesani ticket is Marzio Gozzoli, the regional secretary of Forza Nuova, as Tuscan vice president.
Enrico Rossi
Political party: Democratic Party
Allied parties: Partito Socialista Italiano, Italy of Values, Federazione della Sinistra and Sinistra Ecological e Liberta
Age: 51 years
Place of birth: Bientina (Pisa)
Profession: Journalist and politician
Political experience: After university, Rossi worked for a brief period as a journalist for the daily Il Tirreno. Turning to politics, he was elected to the municipal administration of Pontedera. In 1990, at age 32, he was elected mayor of Pontedera, remaining in office until 1999. In 2000, he entered the regional administration for the first time, becoming Tuscany’s superintendent of health, a position he continues to hold with the PD.
Campaign slogan: La Toscana avanti tutta (‘Tuscany: full speed ahead’).
Website: www.enricorossipresidente.it. Contains programme details, full contact information, videos, blog.
After 20 years in both municipal and regional administrations, Rossi leads the centre-left coalition in Tuscany as its presidential candidate. As the political successor of Claudio Martini, Rossi would continue the work of the former administration, and the majority of his promises are close to the broader PD platform. His priorities include developing and modernising the Tuscan economy by streamlining bureaucratic processes and by providing more rights to workers. Rossi believes that Tuscany can be a national and European leader in the renewable energy sector and therefore is against the use of nuclear power and the construction of nuclear power plants in the region. He also pledges to improve road, air and railway infrastructure and encourage ‘green’ transportation. He and his party oppose the construction of detention and expulsion centres for illegal migrants in Tuscany, claiming such centres are inefficient and fail to ensure basic human rights. Stella Targetti, a young business leader in Florence, is running for regional vice president on the same ticket.
