The Gay Party ( it, Partito Gay), whose full name is ''Partito Gay per i diritti LGBT+, Solidale Ambientalista e Liberale'' ("Gay Party for LGBT+ Rights, Solidary, Environmentalist and Liberal"), is an Italian political group, being the first one specifically aimed at defending the rights of
sexual diversity.
History
The origins of the party date back to 2018, when Fabrizio Marrazzo (LGBT activist, spokesman for the Gay Center and former president of
Arcigay
Arcigay is Italy's first and largest worldwide gay organisation. The association was first founded as a local association in Palermo in 1980, then nationally established in Bologna in 1985. The organisation became known throughout Italy for its c ...
in Rome) registered on 30 August the "Partito Gay" brand, which included a logo containing a band with the colours of the
LGBT flag and the phrase "Europe Italy" at the top. At that time, Marrazzo pointed out that the party was in an embryonic stage waiting to be able to develop it at a massive level in future elections and he hoped to capture between 6% and 15% of the votes.
The party was publicly presented on 19 November 2020, in an act led by Marrazzo in addition to LGBT activists Claudia Toscano and Vittorio Tarquini. The party defines solidarity,
environmentalism and
liberalism among its programmatic pillars.
The presentation of the party generated criticism from within the LGBT community, given that they consider that civil rights cannot be defended in a sectorial manner according to each group.
Among the actions of the party in its first months of activity was accusing soccer player
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan ( sr-Cyrl, Златан) is a male given name of Slavic origin meaning ''Golden''. The name is common amongst all South Slavic countries, namely in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia. The name is found i ...
of homophobia for comments made at the
71st San Remo Festival, where he made jokes about the singer
Achille Lauro
Achille Lauro (; 16 June 1887 – 15 November 1982) was an Italian businessman and politician. He is widely considered one of the main precursors of modern populism in Italian politics. He was nicknamed by his supporters ''Il Comandante'' ("The ...
, and a request that the
Giardini Pubblici Indro Montanelli of Milan be renamed
Raffaella Carrà in tribute to her recent death and in rejection of the racist comments Montanelli made during his lifetime.
The Gay Party presented candidacies for the municipal elections of 2021, mainly in the cities of
Rome,
Milan and
Turin, where Fabrizio Marazzo, Mauro Festa and Davide Betti Balducci were presented as mayoral candidates, respectively. In the case of Turin, the party has denounced homophobia on the part of the administrators of the condominium where the group's local headquarters are located due to the difficulties they have presented in displaying the LGBT flag and party symbols, as well as in carrying out campaign activities.
For the
2022 Italian general election
The 2022 Italian general election was a snap election held in Italy on 25 September 2022. After the fall of the Draghi government, which led to a parliamentary impasse, President of Italy, President Sergio Mattarella dissolved the parliament on 2 ...
, the party failed to collect the 80,000 signatures necessary to be able to register, and on 22 August they announced an agreement with the
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 ...
to carry two candidates (Fabrizio Marrazzo and Marina Zela) on the party's lists.
Neither of them managed to get elected.
See also
*
LGBT movements
*
List of LGBT political parties
References
External links
Official site
{{Political parties in Italy
2020 establishments in Italy
LGBT liberalism
LGBT political parties
Single-issue political parties in Italy
Political parties established in 2020
Green political parties in Italy
Liberal parties in Italy