Gianluca Buonanno (15 May 1966 – 5 June 2016) was an Italian politician born in

Borgosesia Borgosesia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about north of Vercelli. The largest town in the Valsesia, it is crossed by the Sesia River. History ...

. At the time of his death, Buonanno was mayor of Borgosesia, member of Lega Nord and MEP.

Biography

He was affiliated with the Italian Social Movement from 1982 to 1995, when he switched to the National Alliance. Buonanno left the National Alliance for Lega Nord in 2002. He was elected in the XVI and XVII legislature of Italy and in the

2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union, from 22 to 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candid ...

for the

eighth European Parliament The eighth European Parliament was elected in the 2014 elections and lasted until the 2019 elections. Major events * 22–25 May 2014 ** Elections to the Eighth Parliament. * 1 July 2014 ** First meeting (constitutive session) of the Eighth Pa ...

. As an MEP, Buonanno was an unaffiliated Non-Inscrit before joining Europe of Nations and Freedom, and was backed by the

European Alliance for Freedom The European Alliance for Freedom (EAF) was a pan- European political party of right-wing Eurosceptics. It was founded in late 2010, the party was recognised by the European Parliament in 2011. It did not seek registration as a political party ...

and Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom. Buonanno died at the age of 50 in 2016 in a car accident in Gorla Maggiore, province of Varese. His funeral was held in the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Serravalle Sesia Serravalle Sesia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about north of Vercelli Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabita ...

, where Lega Nord leader,

Matteo Salvini Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been Federal Secretary of Italy's Lega Nord (Northern League) party s ...

, was also present.

Political views and controversies

Buonanno was known for having shown attitudes typical of the Italian

far-right politics Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

and generating controversy and public uproar. Multiple times he expressed opinions, judged to be

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...

, on homosexuality. In 2011 Buonanno said: "Gays, everything is due to them. When a homosexual happens to be beaten up, a great outcry comes out, but nobody says anything when who is beaten up is not gay". In 2013 he then claimed: "At

Gay Pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to s ...

you can see scenes that are disgusting, horrifying scenes. ''Pride'' sucks. If a gay person approaches me, does some flirting and he pisses me off, I kick him in the balls". In April 2014, Buonanno had waved a sea bass in parliament arguing that pensioners cannot afford it, unlike immigrants, who are kept in luxury hotels and inviting the then President of the Chamber of Deputies

Laura Boldrini Laura Boldrini, (; born 28 April 1961) is an Italian politician and former United Nations official, who served as President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy. Previously she served as Spokesperson to the United Nations High Commissioner for ...

to eat it. During September 2014 Buonanno declared: "In

there may be a dozen of gay people, but they may have increased. I would prefer to register and identify them all. If they ask me to celebrate a gay wedding in the town where I'm mayor, I'd say it's better for them to get an

involuntary treatment Involuntary treatment (also referred to by proponents as assisted treatment and by critics as forced drugging) refers to medical treatment undertaken without the consent of the person being treated. Involuntary treatment is permitted by law in so ...

. At most I would offer to gays, bananas or

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

salad". In 2015 Buonanno also sided against the

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...

, saying: "Romanis are the scum of society". Because of this, in April 2016, the "Court of Milan" upheld an appeal filed by the "A.S.G.I." (''Association of legal studies on immigration'') and "N.A.G.A." (''Voluntary association of social-health assistance and for the rights of foreign citizens, Romani and

Sinti The Sinti (also ''Sinta'' or ''Sinte''; masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintesa'') are a subgroup of Romani people mostly found in Germany and Central Europe that number around 200,000 people. They were traditionally itinerant, but today o ...

'') associations and sentenced Buonanno to the payment of €6000 in favor of each of the recurring associations as compensation for non-pecuniary damage.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buonanno, Gianluca 1966 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Italian politicians 21st-century Italian politicians Europe of Nations and Freedom MEPs Italian Social Movement politicians Lega Nord MEPs Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy) MEPs for Italy 2014–2019 National Alliance (Italy) politicians People from Borgosesia Road incident deaths in Italy Far-right politics in Italy