Attilio Fontana (born 28 March 1952) is an Italian politician from
Varese
Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559.
It is the c ...
,
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
. He has served as
President of Lombardy
The president of Lombardy is the supreme authority of Lombardy, the most populated region of Italy.
Election
Originally appointed by the Regional Council of Lombardy, since 1995 ''de facto'' and 2000 ''de jure'', the president is elected by pop ...
since 2018 leading a
centre-right coalition
The centre-right coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-destra) is an alliance of political parties in Italy, active—under several forms and names—since 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi entered politics and formed his Forza Italia party. Despite ...
.
Biography
Early political career
A long-time member of
Lega Lombarda and
Lega Nord
Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...
(LN), he was Mayor of
Induno Olona
Induno Olona is a town and ''comune'' in Italy, in north-western Lombardy, north of Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after R ...
from 1995 to 1999. Fontana, with LN, was elected in the
2000 regional election and
2005 regional election to the
Regional Council of Lombardy
The Regional Council of Lombardy ( it, Consiglio Regionale della Lombardia) is the parliament, legislative assembly of Lombardy, Italy.
It was first elected in 1970, when the Regions of Italy, ordinary regions were instituted, on the basis of th ...
, of which he functioned as
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
until July 2006.
Mayor of Varese
He stepped down from that office after being elected Mayor of Varese with 57.8% of the vote in the first round of 28 May 2006. He was re-elected in May 2011 with 53.8% of the vote in a run-off. Fontana, ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits, left the office in June 2016. In 2007 Fontana was the lawyer of
Andrea Mascetti
Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew.
Origin of the name
The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that re ...
in the case against the left-wing journalist and television host
Michele Santoro
Michele Santoro (born 2 July 1951) is an Italian journalist, and television host and presenter.
He also served till October 2005 as Member of the European Parliament for Southern Italy with the United in the Olive Tree list, part of the Sociali ...
from who they won: with this court case Fontana obtained notoriety at national level.
2018 presidential election
Speculation
Some journalists in July 2016 speculated a nomination of Fontana as LN candidate in
2018 election for
President of Lombardy
The president of Lombardy is the supreme authority of Lombardy, the most populated region of Italy.
Election
Originally appointed by the Regional Council of Lombardy, since 1995 ''de facto'' and 2000 ''de jure'', the president is elected by pop ...
if the
incumbent
The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...
''Governor'' (President of Region)
Roberto Maroni
Roberto Ernesto Maroni (; 15 March 1955 – 22 November 2022) was an Italian politician from Varese and a past President of Lombardy. He was the leader of the Northern League, a party seeking autonomy or independence for Northern Italy or Padan ...
– who was elected in
2013 regional election for a five-year term with the support of
Lega Lombarda and
Lega Nord
Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...
, the parties of Maroni and Fontana, and with the support of the others parties members of the
2013 center right coalition – will not run for a second consecutive (and final) term; in January 2018, when Maroni announced his retirement from politics, Fontana was selected as Centre-right (composed by
FI,
LN,
FdI,
EpL,
NcI and his
civic personal list named "Fontana List" composed by members of
PP,
RC,
MNS and also by civic, independent and non-partisans members) candidate to the Presidency of Lombardy. For the media, his experience as Mayor and
Salvini's popularity are among the strengths of his candidacy.
General Election
On 15 January 2018,
[ Fontana stated that the ]Western culture
Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''.
image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
was in danger[ due to the migration flows from Africa.] This created many protests as well as criticisms from the centre-left Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
(PD) and the big tent anti-establishment Five Star Movement
The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
(M5S). Because of the controversy he apologised for his remarks, declaring that it was a slip of the tongue and an expressive error, not due to inherent racism of him or his party. Fontana's principal rivals were Giorgio Gori
Giorgio Gori (born 24 March 1960, in Bergamo) is an Italian entrepreneur, journalist and politician. He is a member of the Democratic Party and has been the mayor of Bergamo since June 2014.
Early life
Giorgio Gori attended high school at the ...
(PD) and Dario Violi
Dario Violi (Costa Volpino, 4 May 1985) is an Italians, Italian politician.
Biography
He served as Lombard regional councilor from 2013 to 2018 in the 10th term of the Regional Council as a member of Five Star Movement (M5S). Violi ran for th ...
(M5S).
On 4 March 2018 Fontana won 50% against Gori (29%) and Violi (17%) in the regional election and Fontana sworn in office as ''Governor'' on 26 March.
Presidency of Lombardy (2018present)
In October 2018, Fontana blocked, with his legal authority of Lombardy President, a Muslim association from turning a former hospital chapel into a mosque. In September 2020, a few weeks after the 2020 constitutional referendum on the cut in the number of parliamentarians linked to the reform initiated by the Conte I Cabinet
The first Conte government was the 65th government of the Italian Republic. It was led by Giuseppe Conte, an independent, and it was in office from 1 June 2018 to 5 September 2019.
The cabinet was formed by a coalition between the Five Star Mo ...
led by the League with M5S and concluded by the Conte II Cabinet
The second Conte government was the 66th government of the Italian Republic and the second government led by Giuseppe Conte. The government was sworn in on 5 September 2019 to 13 February 2021.
The government was supported by the anti-establish ...
led by the coalition between M5S and PD, Fontana announces his vote against, in dissent with the official line of the League (established by Salvini), lined up for the "Yes".
Suspicion of abuse of power
In May 2019 the Prosecutor Office of Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
started an investigation on Fontana due to abuse of power
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...
as President of Lombardy in a case of corruption, but in March 2020 all the accusation falls and the case is definitively closed as the appointment in question did not constitute a crime.
Suspicion of fraud in public supplies
In July 2020 another investigation started, following the activities of Fontana, his wife and his brother in law during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Some journalists in September 2020 speculated a retirement of Fontana from politics in 2023 - similar to Maroni's retirement in 2018 - in favour of Giancarlo Giorgetti
Giancarlo Giorgetti (born 16 December 1966 in Cazzago Brabbia) is an Italian politician and prominent member of the League, of which he became deputy secretary in 2016. Since October 2022, Giorgetti is serving as Minister of Economy and Finance ...
or an early election due to the media hype due to the "Covid investigation", but Matteo Salvini
Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been List of Federal ...
(the Federal Secretary of Lega) prevented the resignment of Fontana from the Presidency of Lombardy and an early election.
On 2 December 2021, the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office requests the indictment of Fontana, for the crime of fraud in public supplies, after he had renounced being questioned by the investigators. On 13 May 2022 he was acquitted by the Milan GUP together with 4 other suspects (including his brother-in-law) because the fact does not exist.
Suspicion of self-laundering and misrepresentation
In March 2021, Fontana was entered in the register of suspects of the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office for self-laundering and false declaration in voluntary disclosure in reference to a suspected movement of money between Italy and Switzerland which took place starting from 2015. In February 2022, the case was closed; for the investigating judge of Milan, there are not enough elements to support the accusation against Fontana.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontana, Attilio
1952 births
Living people
Lega Nord politicians
Presidents of the regional council of Lombardy
Mayors of Varese
People from Varese
Presidents of Lombardy