Daniela Santanchè
Encyclopedia
Daniela Garnero Santanché (born 7 April 1961) is an Italian entrepreneur
and a politician
. She was Undersecretary to the Minister of Platform Accomplishment from 2010 to 2011 during Berlusconi IV Cabinet
.
, Piedmont
. She moved to Turin
to study political science
, and at 21 married Paolo Santanché, a plastic surgeon
. She was employed by his company in an administrative role.
After studying political science
, in 1983 she founded a society that focused on marketing
. She later acquired shares of the Billionaire company, along with Flavio Briatore
, Lele Mora, Paolo Brosio and Marcello Lippi
.
In 1995 she left her husband, Paolo Santanché, and began a relationship with Canio Mazzaro, a pharmaceutical entrepreneur from Potenza
. Her previous wedding with Paolo Santanché has been declared void by the Roman Rota. She'll continue to be called, in politics, with his surname.
, and in 1995 joined the right-wing National Alliance
.
Santanché worked as consultant for the Milan
Municipality Board led by Gabriele Albertini
, and in June 1999 she was elected councillor
of the Council of the Province of Milan
.
In 2001, Santanché unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Italian Chamber of Deputies
, but instead took up a seat vacated by her colleague Viviana Beccalossi.
From 2003 to June 2004 Santanché served as assessor
of the Municipality Ragalna
, a town in the province of Catania
, dealing with sports and events.
for the National Alliance from 2005 to 2007.
In 2005, Santanché was harshly criticised when she showed her middle finger
, in a gesture of insult, towards a student protest against the Moratti
school reform
In 2005 Santanché was nominated to hold the discussion of the annual Financial Law, the first woman in Italian history in such role. In 2006 she is re-elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies
with Alleanza Nationale in the constituency of Milan
.
On 22 October 2006, while she was participating in a live show, "Controcorrente", to discuss matters regarding the Islamic veil, Santanché was criticized by the Imam
of Segrate
. The prefect
of Milan stated that her safety was at risk and he would consider the possibility of taking some security measures to protect her.
's new party The Right
. The same day, she is appointed as the official speaker for the party
Santanché was then the Prime Minister
candidate for The Right in the 2008 Italian general election
. Along with Flavia D'Angeli (Critical Left
) and Fabiana Stefanoni (Communist Alternative Party
), she was the first woman to be a candidate for Italian prime minister.
The Right did not acquire the necessary share of votes (4% for the Chamber, 8% for the Senate) to enter the Parliament and Daniela Santanché therefore ended her parliamentary mandate. After seven years as deputy, she received €
65534 as trattamento di fine rapporto, and €3605 monthly as lifetime allowance. She declared that she will donate this to charity
.
, Santanché left the party. Shortly afterwards, with Diego Zarneri and other former La Destra politicians, she founded the Movement for Italy
(MpI) political movement, in order to come closer to Silvio Berlusconi
's People of Freedom
.
On 20 September 2009, she appeared with Diego Zarneri at the Eid ul-Fitr
feast in Milan, which enjoyed protection by local policemen. According to Muslims, Santanché tried to unveil
some women, causing reaction from local men. In her version, Santanché says she asked police to implement the Italian law forbidding to circulate with covered head, and not to have made any contact with a Muslim woman. Afterwards, she declared she was assaulted and beaten, but this is denied by Muslim eye witnesses. At the hospital, she is examined and found to have chest
bruise
s, that would take 20 days to heal. On 25 September on the il Fatto Quotidiano
newspaper, a short video shot by peacereporter seems to deny any alleged assault to Santanché. In the video Santanché is shown trying to cross the police barrier, while no assault to her is shown. Santanché's lawyers dismissed the video as a fabrication, releasing a copy of the reports by the hospital and by the police.
On 9 November 2009, during the Domenica cinque live show, while discussing with the imam
of the Segrate mosque, Ali Abu Schwaima on the exposition of the crucifix in public schools, she stated:
published an article stating that although Santanché claimed on her resume a Master's degree in Business Administration from Bocconi University
, the university has no record of such a degree. Santanché did not resign, claims she is in the right and has threatened to sue the magazine for libel. No evidence of her degree has turned up, although it does seem that she attended an unspecified course at the university.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and a politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. She was Undersecretary to the Minister of Platform Accomplishment from 2010 to 2011 during Berlusconi IV Cabinet
Berlusconi IV Cabinet
Berlusconi IV Cabinet has been the cabinet of the government of Italy from 8 May 2008 to 16 November 2011.As of July 2011, it was composed of 24 ministers, 4 deputy ministers and 39 under-secretaries, for a total of 67 members.-Sources:*...
.
Studies and personal life
Santanché was born in CuneoCuneo
Cuneo is a city and comune in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the third largest of Italy’s provinces by area...
, Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
. She moved to Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
to study political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, and at 21 married Paolo Santanché, a plastic surgeon
Plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
. She was employed by his company in an administrative role.
After studying political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, in 1983 she founded a society that focused on marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
. She later acquired shares of the Billionaire company, along with Flavio Briatore
Flavio Briatore
Flavio Briatore is an Italian businessman. During the 1980s, he was convicted for multiple counts of fraud, receiving two prison sentences, only one of which he served. As a fugitive from Italy, he set up restaurants and then a number of successful Benneton franchises in the Virgin Islands and the...
, Lele Mora, Paolo Brosio and Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi, Commendatore OMRI is a former Italian World Cup-winning football manager and former player. He served as Italian national team head coach from 16 July 2004 to 12 July 2006 and led Italy to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was re-appointed as Italian head coach in the summer of 2008...
.
In 1995 she left her husband, Paolo Santanché, and began a relationship with Canio Mazzaro, a pharmaceutical entrepreneur from Potenza
Potenza
-Transportation:Potenza is a rail junction on the main line from Salerno to Taranto, managed by FS Trenitalia; it has also a connection to Altamura, served by the Ferrovie Appulo Lucane regional company...
. Her previous wedding with Paolo Santanché has been declared void by the Roman Rota. She'll continue to be called, in politics, with his surname.
Local politics with Alleanza Nazionale
In the 1990s Santanché became assistant of Ignazio La RussaIgnazio La Russa
Ignazio Benito Maria La Russa is an Italian politician . He became Minister of Defence in the fourth cabinet of Silvio Berlusconi on 8 May 2008...
, and in 1995 joined the right-wing National Alliance
National Alliance (Italy)
National Alliance was a conservative political party in Italy.Gianfranco Fini was the leader of the party since its foundation in 1995, however he stepped down in 2008 after being elected to the nominally non-partisan post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and was succeeded by...
.
Santanché worked as consultant for the Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
Municipality Board led by Gabriele Albertini
Gabriele Albertini
Gabriele Albertini is an Italian politician, former Mayor of Milan and incumbent Member of the European Parliament for North-Western Italy with The People of Freedom, part of the European People's Party, and sits in the European Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism.He is a substitute...
, and in June 1999 she was elected councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
of the Council of the Province of Milan
Province of Milan
The Province of Milan : /) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Milan. The provincial territory is highly urbanized, resulting in the third highest population density among the Italian provinces with more than 2,000 inhabitants/km2, just behind the provinces of...
.
In 2001, Santanché unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Italian Chamber of Deputies
Italian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
, but instead took up a seat vacated by her colleague Viviana Beccalossi.
From 2003 to June 2004 Santanché served as assessor
Assessor (Italy)
In Italy an Assessor is a member of a Giunta, the executive body in all levels of local government: regions, provinces and communes....
of the Municipality Ragalna
Ragalna
Ragalna is a comune in the Province of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about 150 km southeast of Palermo and about 20 km northwest of Catania....
, a town in the province of Catania
Catania
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...
, dealing with sports and events.
National politics with Alleanza Nazionale
Santanché held the position of chief of the department for equal opportunityEqual opportunity
Equal opportunity, or equality of opportunity, is a controversial political concept; and an important informal decision-making standard without a precise definition involving fair choices within the public sphere...
for the National Alliance from 2005 to 2007.
In 2005, Santanché was harshly criticised when she showed her middle finger
Finger (gesture)
In Western culture, the finger , also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" , "fuck you" or "up yours"...
, in a gesture of insult, towards a student protest against the Moratti
Letizia Moratti
Letizia Brichetto-Arnaboldi Moratti is an Italian businesswoman and politician. She is the former mayor of Milan.-Biography:...
school reform
In 2005 Santanché was nominated to hold the discussion of the annual Financial Law, the first woman in Italian history in such role. In 2006 she is re-elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies
Italian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
with Alleanza Nationale in the constituency of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
.
On 22 October 2006, while she was participating in a live show, "Controcorrente", to discuss matters regarding the Islamic veil, Santanché was criticized by the Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
of Segrate
Segrate
Segrate is a town and comune located in the Province of Milan in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. In December 2004 it had some 33,000 inhabitants....
. The prefect
Prefect
Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
of Milan stated that her safety was at risk and he would consider the possibility of taking some security measures to protect her.
La Destra (2008)
More than a year later, on 10 November 2007, Daniela Santanché resigned from the National Alliance party to join Francesco StoraceFrancesco Storace
Francesco Storace is an Italian politician.He began his career at the right-wing newspaper Il Secolo d'Italia, until entering the ranks of the Italian Social Movement and later of National Alliance . He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the first time in 1994...
's new party The Right
The Right
The Right is a national-conservative political party in Italy.-Foundation:On 3 July 2007 Storace announced his resignation from National Alliance in a letter posted on his website, claiming that it had become too centrist and moderate and in protest against the lack of internal democracy in the...
. The same day, she is appointed as the official speaker for the party
Santanché was then the Prime Minister
Prime minister of Italy
The Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...
candidate for The Right in the 2008 Italian general election
Italian general election, 2008
A snap general election was held in Italy on 13 April and 14 April 2008. The election came after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved parliament on 6 February 2008 following the defeat of the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi in a January 2008 Senate vote, and the unsuccessful tentative...
. Along with Flavia D'Angeli (Critical Left
Critical Left
Critical Left is a communist political party in Italy.-History:Originally a Trotskyist faction within the Communist Refoundation Party , it broke ranks on 8 December 2007 to become an independent political party. From 2006 to 2008 SC had a member of the deputy, Salvatore Cannavò, and a senator,...
) and Fabiana Stefanoni (Communist Alternative Party
Communist Alternative Party
The Communist Alternative Party is a communist political party in Italy. Its leader and founder is Francesco Ricci.-History:...
), she was the first woman to be a candidate for Italian prime minister.
The Right did not acquire the necessary share of votes (4% for the Chamber, 8% for the Senate) to enter the Parliament and Daniela Santanché therefore ended her parliamentary mandate. After seven years as deputy, she received €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
65534 as trattamento di fine rapporto, and €3605 monthly as lifetime allowance. She declared that she will donate this to charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
.
Movimento per l'Italia (2008-09)
On 28 September 2008, after arguing with party secretary Francesco StoraceFrancesco Storace
Francesco Storace is an Italian politician.He began his career at the right-wing newspaper Il Secolo d'Italia, until entering the ranks of the Italian Social Movement and later of National Alliance . He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the first time in 1994...
, Santanché left the party. Shortly afterwards, with Diego Zarneri and other former La Destra politicians, she founded the Movement for Italy
Movement for Italy
Movement for Italy was a conservative political party in Italy which now functions as a faction within The People of Freedom , a much larger centre-right party led by Silvio Berlusconi....
(MpI) political movement, in order to come closer to Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
's People of Freedom
The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom is a centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system....
.
On 20 September 2009, she appeared with Diego Zarneri at the Eid ul-Fitr
Eid ul-Fitr
Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Fitr, Id-ul-Fitr, or Id al-Fitr , often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting . Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity," while Fiṭr means "breaking the fast"...
feast in Milan, which enjoyed protection by local policemen. According to Muslims, Santanché tried to unveil
Veil
A veil is an article of clothing, worn almost exclusively by women, that is intended to cover some part of the head or face.One view is that as a religious item, it is intended to show honor to an object or space...
some women, causing reaction from local men. In her version, Santanché says she asked police to implement the Italian law forbidding to circulate with covered head, and not to have made any contact with a Muslim woman. Afterwards, she declared she was assaulted and beaten, but this is denied by Muslim eye witnesses. At the hospital, she is examined and found to have chest
Chest
The chest is a part of the anatomy of humans and various other animals. It is sometimes referred to as the thorax or the bosom.-Chest anatomy - Humans and other hominids:...
bruise
Bruise
A bruise, also called a contusion, is a type of relatively minor hematoma of tissue in which capillaries and sometimes venules are damaged by trauma, allowing blood to seep into the surrounding interstitial tissues. Bruises can involve capillaries at the level of skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle,...
s, that would take 20 days to heal. On 25 September on the il Fatto Quotidiano
Il Fatto Quotidiano
il Fatto Quotidiano is an Italian daily newspaper owned by Editoriale Il Fatto SpA. It was founded on 23 September 2009 and has been edited by Antonio Padellaro since then.- History :...
newspaper, a short video shot by peacereporter seems to deny any alleged assault to Santanché. In the video Santanché is shown trying to cross the police barrier, while no assault to her is shown. Santanché's lawyers dismissed the video as a fabrication, releasing a copy of the reports by the hospital and by the police.
On 9 November 2009, during the Domenica cinque live show, while discussing with the imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
of the Segrate mosque, Ali Abu Schwaima on the exposition of the crucifix in public schools, she stated:
Diploma Scandal of 2011
On 22 March 2011 the magazine OggiOggi (magazine)
Oggi is an Italian weekly news and gossip magazine. It has a circulation of around 3 million, making it the best-selling weekly magazine in Italy. It is owned by the RCS media group, edited by Umberto Brindani, and was established in 1945....
published an article stating that although Santanché claimed on her resume a Master's degree in Business Administration from Bocconi University
Bocconi University
Bocconi University is a private university located in central Milan, beside Parco Ravizza. Bocconi provides undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate education, in addition to a range of double degree programs, in the fields of economics, management, finance and law. According to many university...
, the university has no record of such a degree. Santanché did not resign, claims she is in the right and has threatened to sue the magazine for libel. No evidence of her degree has turned up, although it does seem that she attended an unspecified course at the university.