Pier Ferdinando Casini
Casini in 2016
President of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
31 May 2001 – 27 April 2006
Preceded byLuciano Violante
Succeeded byFausto Bertinotti
Leader of the Christian Democratic Centre
In office
18 January 1994 – 31 May 2001
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byMarco Follini
Member of the Senate of the Republic
Assumed office
15 March 2013
Constituency
Show list:
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
12 July 1983 – 15 March 2013
Constituency
Show list:
Personal details
Born (1955-12-03) 3 December 1955
Bologna, Italy
Political partyDC (1980–1994)
CCD (1994–2002)
UDC (2002–2016)
CpE (since 2016)
Spouses
Roberta Lubich
​
​
(m. 1982; div. 1998)​
    Azzurra Caltagirone
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2007; div. 2016)​
    Children4
    Alma materUniversity of Bologna
    ProfessionPolitician

    Pier Ferdinando Casini (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpjɛr ferdiˈnando kaˈziːni]; born 3 December 1955) is an Italian politician.[1] He served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 2001 to 2006.[2]

    Casini is the honorary president of the Centrist Democrat International and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. From 1993 to 2001, he served as secretary of Christian Democratic Centre, while from 2002 until 2016 he was the leader of Union of the Centre. Being elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1983 for the first time, Casini is the longest-serving member of the parliament in Italy.

    Early life and career

    Casini was born in Bologna in 1955. His father Tommaso was an Italian literature teacher and a local leader of the Christian Democracy (DC), while his mother Mirella was a librarian. Casini has also two sisters and one brother.[3]

    After having attended the classical lyceum Luigi Galvani, in 1979 he graduated with a degree in law at the University of Bologna. During these years he joined the Christian Democracy, like his father, and he was elected to the national directorate of the party's youth wing. In 1980, Casini was elected municipal councillor in his hometown, Bologna, a traditional stronghold of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), the DC' historic rival.[4]

    Political career

    Beginnings within the Christian Democracy

    In the 1983 Italian general election, at only 28 years old, Casini was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, becoming one of the youngest members of the parliament. He run in the multi-member constituency of Bologna, gaining more than 34,000 votes. During his first years as deputy, he became a close advisor of Arnaldo Forlani, one of the most prominent leaders of the DC, head of the conservative faction of the party.[5] When Forlani was elected secretary of the DC in February 1989, he appointed Casini in the national directorate of the party. In the 1987 Italian general election, he was re-elected with more than 52,000 votes and appointed vice president of the so-called "Massacres Commission", focused on the terrorist attacks perpetrated in Italy during the Years of Lead.[6] In the 1992 election, Casini was once again elected in Bologna's constituency with 50,000 votes.

    Leader of Christian Democratic Centre

    Casini in March 1994

    In 1993, at the beginning of the secretariat of Mino Martinazzoli, the Christian Democracy was overwhelmed by investigations on Tangentopoli corruption scandal and mafia trial of the long-time Christian democratic leader, Giulio Andreotti. The party suffered a serious consensus crisis, and Casini, together with Clemente Mastella, took positions against Martinazzoli, leaning towards an alliance with Forza Italia (FI), a new conservative political party founded by the media magnate Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Social Movement (MSI) of Gianfranco Fini and Umberto Bossi's Northern League (LN), aiming at forming a centre-right coalition in opposition to the centre-left one built around the post-communist Democratic Party of the Left (PDS).

    On 18 January 1994, along with other Christian democrats who opposed the party's transformation into the Italian People's Party (PPI),[7] Casini founded the Christian Democratic Centre (CDC).[8] On the same day, he was appointed secretary of the party. In the 1994 general election, the CCD run in a joint list with Forza Italia as a member of the Pole of Freedoms in Northern Italy and the Pole of Good Government in Southern Italy,[9] and gaining 27 deputies and 12 senators. Casini was elected in the closed list constituency of Emilia-Romagna. When Berlusconi's first government lost the support of Lega Nord, Casini did not support the newly formed technocratic cabinet of Lamberto Dini.

    In the 1996 Italian general election, Casini's CDC formed a joint list with Rocco Buttiglione's United Christian Democrats (CDU). However, the election was characterized by a strong aftermath of the centre-left coalition, The Olive Tree, led by Romano Prodi. Casini was elected with nearly 40,000 votes in the single-member constituency of Maglie, in Apulia region. From 1996 to 2001, he strongly opposed the centre-left governments which ruled the country.

    President of the Chamber of Deputies

    Casini with U.S. President George W. Bush in 2004

    In 2001, Casini's CDC joined the House of Freedoms alliance, once again led by Berlusconi. The centre-right coalition largely won the 2001 election and Casini was elected to the Chamber for Pomezia's district, with 56,000 votes. On 31 May 2001, he was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies; at 46 years old, he was one of the youngest ever.

    On 14 November 2002, Casini was the protagonist of a historical event that never happened before: the visit of a Pope to Palazzo Montecitorio, the seat of the Chamber of Deputies. Casini and Senate's president, Marcello Pera, invited Pope John Paul II to the house.[10]

    On 6 December 2002, the CDC formed, along with Buttiglione's UDC and Sergio D'Antoni's European Democracy (DE), the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC).[11] Casini, who was serving as the president of the Chamber of Deputies, could not be appointed secretary of the party and he would never be; however, from 2002 until 2016 when he left the party, Casini would be the most recognisable figure and de facto leader of UDC.[12][13]

    Leader of Union of the Centre

    On 28 January 2006, Casini was elected president of the Christian Democratic International (IDC), succeeding José María Aznar, a position that he held until July 2015. During the electoral campaign for the 2006 Italian general election, Casini hypothesized together with Gianfranco Fini, an alternative candidate for the position of Prime Minister, if UDC and Fini's National Alliance (AN) had reached a larger number of votes than those of Berlusconi's party. The UDC in fact inserted Casini's name in the new electoral symbol. However, the 2006 election was narrowly won by the centre-left coalition of Romano Prodi, who became the new Prime Minister.

    Casini and Silvio Berlusconi in 2008

    Tensions between UDC and House of Freedoms became clear on 2 December 2006, when the centre-right parties, united in opposition to Prodi's cabinet, nevertheless organized two different demonstrations: Berlusconi, Fini and Bossi led the protest through Rome, while Casini and other leaders of UDC spoke in Palermo. During these years, Casini was sometimes spoken of as a possible successor to Berlusconi himself as leader of the coalition. However, as the campaign for the 2008 general election began, Casini officially detached himself from Berlusconi's coalition, refusing to enter his new People of Freedom (PdL) party, preferring to contest the election alone. In a speech to his party, Casini said that "not everyone is for sale", in a not so veiled statement about Berlusconi's political tactics. Casini ran on a purely 'centrist' platform, expanding the UDC into the Union of the Centre (UdC) along with Savino Pezzotta's White Rose.[14][15] The election was won by the centre-right coalition and became Prime Minister once again. The Union of the Centre gained 5.6% of votes and Casini was elected in the multi-member constituency of Liguria.[16]

    After the election, Casini relaunched his plan for a new centrist party, as an alternative to both the PdL and the newly created Democratic Party.[17][18] Casini long criticised the PdL for not being "Catholic" enough, particularly criticising Berlusconi, who once spoke of "anarchy of values" in describing the catch-all nature of the PdL,[19] and Gianfranco Fini, who was known for his social-liberal stance on stem-cell research, abortion and right-to-die issues,[20] and explicitly wooed the "Christian democrats of the PD" to join him.[21]

    Casini at the European People's Party congress in 2012

    In the 2009 European Parliament election in Italy, the UdC won 6.5% of the votes, while in the 2010 regional elections, UdC chose to form alliances both with the centre-right and the centre-left (or stood alone) in different regions, depending on local conditions,[22] losing ground everywhere but in those southern regions where it was in alliance with the centre-right. In December 2010, Casini was among one of the founding fathers of New Pole for Italy (NPI), along with Fini's newly born Future and Freedom (FLI) and the Francesco Rutelli's Alliance for Italy.[23][24] The NPI's aim was to form a third distinct bloc from the centre-right and the centre-left.

    In November 2011, Berlusconi resigned as Prime Minister and Mario Monti formed a new technocratic government. Casini was a strong supporter of Monti's policies and, in the 2013 Italian general election, his party joined With Monti for Italy coalition, alongside FLI and Monti's Civic Choice (SC). The election resulted however in a huge defeat for the UdC, which obtained a mere 1.8% of the vote, eight deputies and two senators. Casini was elected in the Senate for the first time, within the multi-member constituency of Campania.

    Within the centre-left coalition

    In 2013, Casini supported the grand coalition cabinet of Enrico Letta and, in February 2014, the new centre-left government of Matteo Renzi. In the run-up of the 2016 Italian constitutional referendum, strongly supported by Renzi, the UdC chose to campaign for "No", while Casini was among the keenest supporters of "Yes". After the referendum, which saw a defeat of the "Yes" side, the UdC withdrew its support for Renzi. However, some UdC splinters, notably including Casini and minister Gian Luca Galletti, launched "Centrists for Italy" and confirmed their alliance with the Angelino Alfano's New Centre-Right, in support of the centre to centre-left cabinet.[25][26][27] Renzi resigned due to the referendum's lost and Paolo Gentiloni became the new Prime Minister.

    The new party was officially founded in February 2017 and named Centrists for Europe (CpE).[28][29] In December 2017 the CpE launched the Popular Civic List (CP), within the centre-left coalition, along with Popular Alternative (AP), Italy of Values (IdV), Solidary Democracy (DemoS) and minor parties. The new leader of AP, Beatrice Lorenzin, was chosen as leader of the list too.[30][31][32] In the 2018 Italian general election, the CP obtained a mere 0.5%, but Casini was re-elected to the Senate with nearly 122,000 votes from a single-seat constituency in Bologna, thanks to the decisive support of the PD.[33]

    In the 2022 Italian presidential election, Casini was considered one of the most reliable candidates[34][35] but later asked to rule out his name and vote for the incumbent president Sergio Mattarella.[36]

    Personal life

    In 1982, Casini married Roberta Lubich, with whom he had two daughters, Maria Carolina and Benedetta. The coupled divorced in 1998 and he started dating Azzurra Caltagirone, daughter of the famous Roman entrepreneur and publisher Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, who he married in 2007 and with whom he has other two children, Caterina and Francesco. They divorced in 2016.[37]

    Casini is a fan of Bologna F.C. 1909 and Virtus Bologna, respectively the football and basketball teams of his hometown.[38]

    Electoral history

    Election House Constituency Party Votes Result
    1983 Chamber of Deputies Bologna–Ferrara–Ravenna–Forlì DC 34,409 check Elected
    1987 Chamber of Deputies Bologna–Ferrara–Ravenna–Forlì DC 52,667 check Elected
    1992 Chamber of Deputies Bologna–Ferrara–Ravenna–Forlì DC 50,323 check Elected
    1994 Chamber of Deputies Emilia-Romagna CCD –[lower-alpha 1] check Elected
    1996 Chamber of Deputies Apulia – Maglie CCD 39,863 check Elected
    2001 Chamber of Deputies Lazio 1 – Pomezia UDC 56,109 check Elected
    2006 Chamber of Deputies Lombardy 1 UDC –[lower-alpha 1] check Elected
    2008 Chamber of Deputies Liguria UDC –[lower-alpha 1] check Elected
    2013 Senate of the Republic Campania UDC –[lower-alpha 1] checkY Elected
    2018 Senate of the Republic Emilia-Romagna – Bologna CpE 121,898 checkY Elected
    2022 Senate of the Republic Emilia-Romagna – Bologna CpE 232,092 checkY Elected
    1. 1 2 3 4 Elected in a closed list proportional representation system.

    First-past-the-post elections

    1996 general election (C): Apulia — Maglie
    Candidate Coalition Votes %
    Pier Ferdinando Casini Pole for Freedoms 39,863 53.7
    Aurelio Gianfreda The Olive Tree 34,381 46.3
    Total 72,244 100.0
    2001 general election (C): Lazio 1 — Pomezia
    Candidate Coalition Votes %
    Pier Ferdinando Casini House of Freedoms 56,109 54.5
    Angelo Capriotti The Olive Tree 37,365 36.3
    Others 9,478 9.2
    Total 102,952 100.0
    2018 general election (S): Bologna
    Candidate Coalition Votes %
    Pier Ferdinando Casini Centre-left coalition 121,898 34.2
    Elisabetta Brunelli Centre-right coalition 99,824 28.0
    Michela Montevecchi Five Star Movement 87,052 24.4
    Vasco Errani Free and Equal 30,937 8.7
    Others 17,260 4.7
    Total 356,871 100.0
    2022 general election (S): Bologna
    Candidate Coalition Votes %
    Pier Ferdinando Casini Centre-left coalition 232,092 40.1
    Vittorio Sgarbi Centre-right coalition 187,206 32.3
    Fabio Selleri Five Star Movement 62,930 10.9
    Marco Lombardo Action – Italia Viva 54,244 9.4
    Others 42,794 7.3
    Total 579,266 100.0

    Honours and awards

    Works

    • C'era una volta la politica. Parla l'ultimo democristiano, Piemme, 2023, ISBN 9788856688610 (presented at Villa Bertelli, Forte dei Marmi[41][42])

    References

    1. ↑ Mark Donovan; Paolo Onofri (2009). Italian politics: frustrated aspirations for change. Berghahn Books. p. 100ff. ISBN 978-1-84545-638-2. Retrieved 24 November 2010..
    2. ↑ Pope John Paul II (26 November 2003). "Message of John Paul II to Hon. Mr Per Ferdinando Casini, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies". Vatican. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
    3. ↑ "Casini, Pier Ferdinando nell'Enciclopedia Treccani". Enciclopedia Treccani.
    4. ↑ "Chi sono – Pier Ferdinando Casini – Centristi per l'Europa". Pier Ferdinando Casini.
    5. ↑ "Casini, il pragmatic, nato con Forlani e ascoltato da Renzi". Il Sole 24 Ore. 27 September 2017.
    6. ↑ Pier Ferdinando Casini, Storia della Camera
    7. ↑ Daniela Giannetti; Bernard Grofman (2011). "Appendix D". A Natural Experiment on Electoral Law Reform: Evaluating the Long Run Consequences of 1990s Electoral Reform in Italy and Japan. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-4419-7228-6.
    8. ↑ Ram Mudambi; Pietro Navarra; Giuseppe Sobbrio, eds. (2001). Rules, Choice and Strategy: The Political Economy of Italian Electoral Reform. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-78195-082-1.
    9. ↑ La Civiltà Cattolica. La Civiltà Cattolica. 1994. p. 179. UOM:39015085064908.
    10. ↑ Il Papa in visita al Parlamento italiano, Camera dei Deputati
    11. ↑ "PDF file" (PDF).
    12. ↑ Baldini, Gianfranco; Bull, Anna Cento (2009). Governing Fear. Berghahn Books. ISBN 9781845457839 – via google.it.
    13. ↑ "Bookies see Prodi as next president". ANSA.it. 15 January 2015.
    14. ↑ "Elezioni: accordo tra Rosa Bianca e Udc". Corriere della Sera. 8 February 2008
    15. ↑ Gianfranco Baldini; Anna Cento Bull (2010). Governing Fear. Berghahn Books. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-84545-783-9.
    16. ↑ "L'Udc scappa di mano a Pierferdy". Lastampa.It. 5 February 2008. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
    17. ↑ "Adnkronos Politica". Adnkronos.com. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
    18. ↑ "Verso il Partito della Nazione: Casini, siamo noi l'alternativa vera". YouTube. 4 April 2009. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
    19. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2022-01-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    20. ↑ "Casini all' attacco di Fini E sul Pd: i dc scelgano noi". Archiviostorico.corriere.it. 24 December 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
    21. ↑ "notizie di economia, finanza, borsa, mercato, euro e petrolio". Wall Street Italia. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
    22. ↑ "L' Udc lancia la sua sfida "Accordi mirati con Pdl e Pd oppure andremo da soli"". Archiviostorico.corriere.it. 24 December 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
    23. ↑ Nasce il Polo della nazione. Archiviostorico.corriere.it. Retrieved on 24 August 2013.
    24. ↑ Fini: dimissioni? Opzione che non esiste E Bossi invita ad «abbassare i toni». Archiviostorico.corriere.it. Retrieved on 24 August 2013.
    25. ↑ "Fuggi fuggi al Senato: I centristi guardano a Fi. E Alfano resta da solo". 7 December 2016.
    26. ↑ ""Alfano succube di Renzi, ce ne andiamo" - giornaleditalia". www.ilgiornaleditalia.org. Archived from the original on 2016-12-07.
    27. ↑ "Articolo dall'Archivio Storico".
    28. ↑ "Nasce "Centristi per l'Europa". Con Casini, il ministro Galletti e d'Alia". 11 February 2017.
    29. ↑ "Casini ci riprova con la DC". 11 February 2017.
    30. ↑ "Elezioni, Renzi attacca "l'innaturale alleanza popolari-populisti". Orlando chiede scelte condivise". 29 December 2017.
    31. ↑ "Centrosinistra, c'è anche il terzo mini-alleato del Pd: Civica Popolare guidata dalla Lorenzin. Simbolo? Una margherita – Il Fatto Quotidiano". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). 2017-12-29. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
    32. ↑ "Nasce "Civica Popolare", lista centrista alleata con il Pd: Lorenzin alla guida".
    33. ↑ Elezioni 2018, vince Casini: "Stimo Errani, per me questo confronto non c'è mai stato", Bologna Today
    34. ↑ Pipitone, Giuseppe (26 January 2022). "Quirinale – Il curriculum del candidato Casini, da 40 anni in Parlamento: le 'mani sul fuoco' per Cuffaro, la stima per Dell'Utri. L'ultimo successo? Il flop della commissione Banche". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). Retrieved 30 January 2022.
    35. ↑ Tito, Claudio (26 January 2022). "Casini è uno dei più accreditati tra i candidati al Quirinale". La Republica (in Italian). Retrieved 30 January 2022.
    36. ↑ "Pier Ferdinando Casini si sfila: 'Togliete il mio nome dalla corsa alla Presidenza'". Il Resto del Carlino (in Italian). 29 January 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
    37. ↑ Pier Ferdinando Casini, due matrimoni e quattro figli: Caterina e Francesco da Azzurra Caltagirone, Corriere dell'Umbria
    38. ↑ Casini, amo Virtus e Bologna, ma basket grande assente in tv, ANSA
    39. ↑ "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan".
    40. ↑ "Resolución N° 1436/003". www.impo.com.uy. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
    41. ↑ "Parliamone in Villa 2023". 30 May 2023.
    42. ↑ "Versilia. Incontri, arte e approfondimento «Parliamone in Villa» riparte il talk. Undici appuntamenti alla Bertelli/La Nazione". Grand Orient of Italy.
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