The grandson of the last king of Italy, the brother of slain fashion designer Gianni Versace and a Roman princess who is close to the pope are among the mixed bag of unorthodox candidates vying for a seat in next month's general elections.
Parties from the right and left have enrolled these household names to foster their image, draw votes, or simply be provocative. Nobody, however, has ventured as far as the maverick Radical Party famously did 20 years ago, when it enrolled — and managed to get elected — pornstar Ilona Staller, commonly known as Cicciolina.
The fact Italy has been a republic since the end of World War II isn't stopping Emmanuel Filiberto of the Savoy royal family from seeking a seat in parliament in the April 13-14 elections.
The 35-year-old prince, who has denied having any claims to the throne, said Thursday he is running as an ordinary citizen — even though a number of monarchic nostalgics filled the room where he presented his candidacy in Milan. He will campaign under his own list called "Values and Future."
Emmanuel Filiberto returned to Italy with his family in 2002 after a half-century of exile imposed on the Savoy males because of the monarchy's support for fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. He says he wants to represent Italians living abroad, as they were the ones who helped him connect to Italy while he was away
Roman princess Alessandra Borghese, whose family tree includes a 17th-century pope, is running for a Senate seat under a centrist party that, like Borghese herself, has strong ties to the Vatican.
The 44-year-old princess is close to Pope Benedict XVI, has been a Vatican correspondent for the country's largest newsweekly and has written books about faith.
Some say the eye-catching names running for election this year are just filler in a parliament that features 945 lawmakers between the two chambers — a high and expensive number that all sides promise to reduce if elected.
"In parliament, there are 30 people who actually work, all the others just need to be there, and be loyal," Silvio Berlusconi, the conservative candidate for premier, said recently.
Berlusconi — the media mogul and soccer team owner who recently lost the title of Italy's richest man, falling to third — is himself not your average candidate, and his Freedom People list features some unusual names.
One is Santo Versace, whose brother, star designer Gianni, was shot to death in Miami Beach in 1997. Santo runs the business side of the Versace fashion house.
Others vying for a seat are an actor who aims to become culture minister, the leader of taxi protest that paralyzed Rome in the summer of 2006 and a former cross-country Olympic medalist looking for her second stint in parliament.
The Democratic Party, meanwhile, has enrolled the sole survivor of a deadly fire at a ThyssenKrupp plant in Turin in December — a case that has become a symbol in Italy's fight for more safety in the workplace.
Saying that it wants candidates to represent civil society, Democratic Party leader Walter Veltroni is also presenting a renowned oncologist, an up-and-coming entrepreneur and a magistrate who doubles as a writer of successful detective stories.
A former Iraq hostage who says he wants to defend Christian values and the TV presenter of a popular soccer show are running for a far-right party.
Almost 150 lists, parties and movements registered themselves by the Interior Minister's deadline earlier this month. While the overwhelming majority will not garner enough votes to elect any lawmakers, there's something for all tastes.
The "No Garbage in Campania" list is a reference to the trash crisis that exploded in Naples and its surrounding Campania region late last year. Then there's the "Liberal Catholic Holy Roman Empire," the "Internet Party," the "Dolphin National Movement," along with Fascist and communist nostalgics.
Hoping to bank on widespread sentiments of disappointment against Italy's ruling class, some lists are using names similar to that of satirist and anti-elite crusader Beppe Grillo, who himself is not running. Another is simply called "I Don't Vote."
The Associated Press
Published: March 13, 2008
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