Daniele Capezzone (born 8 September 1972) is an Italian journalist and former politician. From 14 July 2001 to 4 November 2006, he was secretary of the

Italian Radicals The Italian Radicals ( it, Radicali Italiani, RI) is a liberal and libertarian political party in Italy. Founded on 14 July 2001 with Daniele Capezzone as their first secretary, the party describes itself as "''liberale'', ''liberista'' nd''lib ...

, a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, pro-

market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

movement associated with the

Transnational Radical Party The Transnational Radical Party (TRP), whose official name is Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational and Transparty (NRPTT), is a political association of citizens, members of parliament and members of government of various national and political ...

. He has been one of the youngest party-secretaries in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

so far. In 2006-2008, he was the President of the 10th Permanent Commission (Productive Affairs, Trade and Tourism) of the

Italian Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies ( it, Camera dei deputati) is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Senate of the Republic). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical funct ...

Biography

Graduated at "Lucio Manara" Secondary School in Classical Studies in Rome, he attended

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Faculty at LUISS "Guido Carli" University until 1997. On 1 January 1998, he attended a Radical Party demonstration, where he first met the radical leader

Marco Pannella Marco Pannella (born Giacinto Pannella; 2 May 1930 – 19 May 2016) was an Italian politician, journalist and activist. He was well known in his country for his nonviolence and civil rights' campaigns, like the right to divorce, the right to ab ...

. He then dropped the studies and became a political activist. On 14 July 2001, he was elected Secretary of the newly-born party of the

. In 2003, he published his first book, ''A radical shock for 21st Century'', a synthesis of the Radicals' proposals for the constitution of a "World Democracy Organization". The contents of the book were presented at the

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right Washington, D.C.–based think tank that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare. ...

in March 2004. In 2004 Capezzone published his second book, ''Euroghost - Un fantasma si aggira per l'Europa: l'Europa'' (English translation: ''Euroghost - A Ghost wanders through Europe: Europe itself''); he undertook a 54-day-long

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

(with the Italian Radicals Treasurer,

Rita Bernardini Rita Bernardini (born 27 December 1952) is an Italian politician. Born in Rome, Rita Bernardini was the secretary of the Italian Radicals from November 2013 to 2015. She had already been secretary between 2006 and 2008. She was elected deputy a ...

, and the death-penalty abolitionist organization ''

Hands Off Cain At Italy's instigation, the UN moratorium on the death penalty resolution was presented by the EU in partnership with eight co-author member States to the General Assembly of the United Nations, calling for general suspension (not abolition) ...

'' President,

Sergio D'Elia Sergio D'Elia (born 5 May 1952 in Pontecorvo, Italy) is an Italian politician, activist and former left-wing terrorist, now a human rights supporter and advocate of non-violence. Diego Galli, Michele Lembo, Elisabetta Zamparutti''The real story ...

), asking the

Italian Parliament The Italian Parliament ( it, Parlamento italiano) is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitiona ...

to pass a general pardon-law; he wrote some op-ed articles for the Italian right-wing

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

''Libero'' and for

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

. Capezzone became a well-known politician also for his appearances in the

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

TV show ''Markette'' (on private TV-channel

La7 La7 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned by Cairo Communication. Until 2013 it was a pay-per-view channel owned by Telecom Italia Media and operated by Telecom Italia. Signal overspill means that parts of Albania, Croatia, Swi ...

) and for his

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...

imitation Imitation (from Latin ''imitatio'', "a copying, imitation") is a behavior whereby an individual observes and replicates another's behavior. Imitation is also a form of that leads to the "development of traditions, and ultimately our culture. I ...

made by Italian comedian

Neri Marcorè Neri Marcorè (born 31 July 1966) is an Italian actor, voice actor, impressionist, television presenter and singer. He has appeared in 22 films and television shows since 1994. He starred in the film '' Incantato'', which was entered into the 20 ...

in another satirical TV show, ''Superciro'' (on private TV-channel

Italia 1 Italia 1 (Italian pronunciation ) is an Italian free-to-air television channel on the Mediaset network, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It is oriented at both young and adult people. Italia 1 was launched on 3 January 1982 and, originally, was o ...

). During Spring 2005, he undertook another hunger strike (once more with Rita Bernardini) asking to the Italian

public service broadcaster Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

to give more space to the debates on the Radical

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

proposals for partially abrogate the law on

artificial insemination Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatme ...

, particularly strict in Italy. The four proposals, held on 12 and 13 June 2005, were however invalidated due to high abstentionism. In November 2005, Capezzone was re-confirmed as Italian Radicals' Secretary for the fourth time in a row and he conducted the birth of the

Rose in the Fist The Rose in the Fist ( it, Rosa nel Pugno, RnP) was a political alliance of parties in Italy. The RnP was composed of the Italian Democratic Socialists (SDI; a social-democratic party led by Enrico Boselli and Roberto Villetti), the Italian ...

, a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

federation with the

Italian Democratic Socialists The Italian Democratic Socialists ( it, Socialisti Democratici Italiani, SDI) were a social-democratic political party in Italy. The party was the direct continuation of the Italian Socialists, the legal successor of the historical Italian Soci ...

(SDI). He was elected in the general election of 2006 as a member of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

and, on 6 June 2006, as President of the 10th Permanent Commission, becoming the first

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

politician to be elected as a President of a Permanent Commission in the Italian Parliament. During the 5th Congress of the Italian Radicals (held in

Padova Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, 2–5 November 2006), Capezzone has been harshly challenged by many Radical leaders, because of his criticism to the

Prodi II Cabinet The second Prodi government was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008, a total of 722 days, or 1 year, 11 months and 21 days. The 59th cabinet of the Italian Republic, it was the only cabinet of the XV Legislatur ...

(mostly stigmatized from Minister of European Politics and International Trade,

Emma Bonino Emma Bonino (born 9 March 1948) is an Italian politician. A senator for Rome, she served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2014. Previously, she was a Member of the European Parliament and a member of the Chamber of Deputies. She serve ...

) and for an alleged personalistic management of the movement, which allegedly caused a worsening of the economical condition of the party. In the previous days,

s reported ''rumours'' about the likelihood of his substitution at the party Secretariat, in favour of the Treasurer Rita Bernardini. The Radicals historical leader

justified that substitution not as "an act of disconfidence" on Capezzone, but as the prosecution of a historical custom of no overlapping of party- and parliamentarian-appointments. Newspapers however insisted on a break-up between Pannella and Capezzone (shown respectively as "the past" and "the future" of the Radical movement), re-publishing an audio/video recording (already published by

Radio Radicale Radio Radicale is the official radio station of the Italian Radical Party. Founded in 1976 as part of the ''Radio libere'' ("Free Radio”) movement, it has no commercial advertisements and is partly funded by the party, with support from the Ita ...

's website) of a very lively discussion between the two politicians, during the Italian Radicals' National Direction meeting held on 26 October 2006. Also in October, Capezzone came out as bisexualGuerzoni Monica (26 October 2006)
Google translation of "Capezzone si confessa: io bisex, niente di strano"
Corriere.it. Retrieved on 22 September 2010. He will later in other interview insist his sexual life is private. After an even more lively Italian Radicals' National Direction meeting held on the night of 4 November 2006, during the 5th Congress of the movement, Capezzone accepted not to offer himself for the fifth time in a row for the Secretariat and to support instead the candidature of the Treasurer Rita Bernardini. The 5th Congress accepted anyway his proposal of General Motion (co-signed with Bernardini), that committed the Italian Radicals to relaunch the

alliance and to press the Prodi II Cabinet for embark new libertarian proposals on

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

. From that time, anyway, Capezzone started to distance himself from his party and to be very critical with

, which he says not to support anymore. In June 2007, despite not having left the Radicals yet, he launched his own political association,

Decide! Decide! (''Decidere!'') was an Italian libertarian political association established and led by Daniele Capezzone. The group was sometimes also referred to as ''Decidere.net'', in reference to its official website. It was one of the founding memb ...

, mounting rumors that he was heading towards the centre-right

House of Freedoms The House of Freedoms ( it, Casa delle Libertà, CdL) was a major centre-right political and electoral alliance in Italy, led by Silvio Berlusconi. History The CdL was the successor of the Pole of Freedoms/Pole of Good Government and the Pole fo ...

coalition. On 7 November Capezzone finally left the

and the

. He has been the spokesman of

Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...

and then of

The People of Freedom The People of Freedom ( it, Il Popolo della Libertà, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL, launched by Silvio Berlusconi on 18 November 2007, was initially a federation of political parties, notably including Forza Italia a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capezzone, Daniele 1972 births Living people Politicians from Rome Italian Radicals politicians Forza Italia politicians The People of Freedom politicians Forza Italia (2013) politicians Conservatives and Reformists (Italy) politicians Direction Italy politicians Deputies of Legislature XV of Italy Deputies of Legislature XVII of Italy Italian libertarians Bisexual politicians LGBT rights activists from Italy Bisexual men Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli alumni LGBT legislators in Italy 21st-century LGBT people