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Renato Schifani

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Renato Schifani
President of Sicily
Incumbent
Assumed office
13 October 2022
Preceded byNello Musumeci
President of the Senate of the Republic
In office
29 April 2008 – 14 March 2013
Preceded byFranco Marini
Succeeded byPietro Grasso
Member of the Senate of the Republic
In office
9 May 1996 – 12 October 2022
ConstituencyMonreale (1996–2006)
Sicily (2006–2022)
Personal details
Born (1950-05-11) 11 May 1950 (age 74)
Palermo, Italy
Political partyFI (since 2016)
Other political
affiliations		DC (until 1994)
FI (1995–2009)
PdL (2009–2013)
NCD (2013–2016)
Height1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)
Alma materUniversity of Palermo
ProfessionLawyer

Renato Maria Giuseppe Schifani (Italian pronunciation: [reˈnaːto skiˈfaːni]; born 11 May 1950) is an Italian politician who has served as the president of Sicily since 13 October 2022. Schifani was Silvio Berlusconi's chief whip and was a prominent member of the Senate of the Republic from 1996 to 2022. From 29 April 2008 to 14 March 2013, he was the president of the Senate of the Republic.

Initially a member of Christian Democracy, the ruling party of post-war Italy, Schifani joined Berlusconi's Forza Italia in 1995. He joined The People of Freedom when it succeeded FI as Berlusconi's party in 2009. He then joined the New Centre-Right party but left it in 2016 for the reformed Forza Italia. He won the 2022 Sicilian regional election and was elected president of the region.

During his career, Schifani has been the subject of Sicilian Mafia allegations. On at least two occasions, he had been associated with people who were convicted of Mafia offences, though Schifani has never been directly investigated or indicted for any Mafia-related matters.

Early life and education

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Schifani was born in Palermo on 11 May 1950.[1] He graduated at the University of Palermo, becoming a lawyer.[2][3] Since he became a lawyer in 1976, Schifani specialized in trials at Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation (Italian: Corte Suprema di Cassazione), the major court of last resort. He also specialized in real estate regulations and became active in the debt collecting business. Filippo Mancuso, the former Italian Minister of Justice also born in Palermo, termed Schifani "the prince of debt collectors" (il principe del recupero crediti).[4]

Political career

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Silvio Berlusconi's chief whip

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Prior to joining Forza Italia in 1995,[3] Schifani was an active member of Christian Democracy (DC). In February 1995, he joined Forza Italia and became the regional manager of the party departments in Sicily.[1] Elected in 1996 in the Altofonte−Corleone district in Sicily,[1] he served as Silvio Berlusconi's chief whip in the Senate. During his first legislature, he was the group leader of Forza Italia in the Constitutional Affairs Commission at Palazzo Madama and was part of the Bicameral Commission for Reforms. Re-elected in 2001, he was confirmed the group leader of Forza Italia in the Senate. In 2002, Schifani was a protagonist in the attempt to secure the embedding of the provisional Article 41-bis prison regime,[1] which is used against people imprisoned for particular crimes such as Mafia involvement, as a definitive measure in Italian law.[5]

In 2006, Schifani was re-elected, this time in the Sicily-at large constituency, and confirmed the group leader of Forza Italia. He was member of the Territory and Environment Commission.[1] He was re-elected in 2008, when he also became president of the Senate, and in 2013. On 19 March 2013, Schifano was appointed by acclamation as the group leader of Berlusconi's new party, The People of Freedom (PdL), in the Senate. On 15 November 2013, resigned as group leader of the PdL in the Senate. On 16 November 2013, he joined the New Centre-Right (NCD), of which on 5 December he became president of the promoting committee on 5 December 2013 and subsequently group leader of the Popular Area group in the Senate, which included NCD and the Union of the Centre (UDC). On 19 July 2016, Schifani resigned as group leader of Popular Area (NCD–UDC) group.[1] On 4 August 2016, he joined the new Forza Italia, which had been established as the successor of the PdL in 2013, and thanked Berlusconi for welcoming him back.[6] In 2018, he was re-elected senator and assigned as an effective member of the Constitutional Affairs Commission. He was also a member of the RAI Supervision Commission, the Bicameral Commission on the Banking System, and the Senate Rules Committee. In 2022, he did not seek re-election and instead ran for the presidency of Sicily.[1]

2004 immunity law

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Schifani and Antonio Maccanico, senator of The Olive Tree, gave their name to a bill aimed at granting immunity to the top five representatives of the state, including the then Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was the only one to not face trial. After extensive revisions of the text of the law by the Senate, Maccanico withdraw his name from the project. The lodo Schifani decree was then approved in June 2003 by the Italian Parliament guaranteeing immunity to Silvio Berlusconi. The law was subsequently declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court on 13 January 2004.[5][7]

Similar provisions were included in the lodo Alfano (2008), granting immunity to the top four representatives of the state, including Berlusconi and the same Schifani as speaker of the Senate. After being granted immunity, Schifani sued his critics including journalists and writers, such as Marco Travaglio and Antonio Tabucchi, for slander, claiming €1.3 million from Tabucchi during the AnnoZero television programme on 5 February 2009.[8][9] The lodo Alfano was declared anti-constitutional in October 2009.[10][nb 1] In the 2019, the Supreme Court of Cassation rejected Schifani's slander damages against Travaglio and Tabucchi, describing their criticism as within the right of critique.[11]

President of the Senate

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Schifani (right) at the meeting of the Association of European Senates in Gdańsk, 2009

After a snap election brought back Berlusconi to power, Schifani was elected as president of the Senate on 29 April 2008.[5][12] He received 178 out of 319 votes. Schifani held the position until March 2013.[1]

Alleged Mafia connections

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In 1979, Schifani founded and became managing director of the firm Siculabrokers.[13] Enrico La Loggia (who would later become Minister for Regional Affairs),[14] Benny D'Agostino, Giuseppe Lombardo, and Antonino Mandalà were among its shareholders.[15][16][17] D'Agostino is an entrepreneur convicted for Sicilian Mafia association, while Mandalà was convicted for Mafia association and was indicated by the Court of Palermo as the Mafia boss of Villabate.[18][19] Lombardo was chairman and member of the board of Satris, a credit recovery agency whose shareholders were Ignazio and Nino Salvo, well known businessmen and Mafiosi of the Salemi family who had been arrested by prosecutor Giovanni Falcone in 1984.[18][nb 2]

According to the pentito (Mafia turncoat) Francesco Campanella, Mandalà and La Loggia in the 1990s agreed on the master plan for the shopping centre they wanted to develop in the town of Villabate, which aroused the interests of politicians and the Mafia.[20] Schifani, La Loggia, and the civil engineer Guzzaro (the consultant who advised the town) would share the consulting fees for drawing up the master plan. The master plan of the town of Villabate was designed under specific instruction of Mandalà and his son, who was responsible for the logistics to keep the fugitive Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano at large.[21] They conspired with the local Mafia families and politicians to skim from the public contracts.[20] In 1992, Schifani, Antonio Mangano, and Antonino Garofalo founded GMS, another credit recovery agency. Schifani's partner Garofalo was charged with usury and extortion in 1997. Schifani was not mentioned in the police investigation.[13]

Media row with Marco Travaglio

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On 10 May 2008, the journalist Marco Travaglio interviewed on the RAI current affairs talk show television programme Che tempo che fa talked about the Italian media and mentioned past relationships between Schifani and men who have subsequently been condemned for Mafia association as an example of a relevant fact that in his view was ignored by almost all Italian newspapers that published a biography of Schifani as the new president of Senate.[22][23][24] The statement of Travaglio resulted in fierce and almost universally negative reactions including from the centre-left coalition, except for Mani pulite judge and Italy of Values deputy Antonio Di Pietro, who said that Travaglio was "merely doing his job". Some called for chief executives at RAI to be dismissed. The popular political commentator Beppe Grillo supported Travaglio, while Schifani announced he would take Travaglio to court for slander.[25] Schifani said that Travaglio's accusation was based on "inconsistent or manipulated facts, not even worthy of generating suspicions", adding that "someone wants to undermine the dialogue between the government and the opposition."[24] In 2010, Travaglio was sentenced to pay a €16,000 fine to Schifani, who had instead asked for a fine of almost €2 million. Travaglio said that he was acquitted from the charge of slander and that the fine was merely due to the words he used, such as earthworm or mold, in reference to Schifani.[26]

President of Sicily

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On September 25, 2022, Schifani was elected Sicily's regional president.[27] He then took office after being proclaimed president of Sicily on 13 October 2022.[28] After the death of Berlusconi in June 2023, Antonio Tajani was named the party's secretary. In February 2024, Schifani was appointed as the leader of Forza Italia's national council. He said: "In these two days we are witnessing a second Italian miracle: Forza Italia is still there after Berlusconi left us. ... If there is a party that has truly fought organized crime, fought it openly, it is Forza Italia. We did it through the laws on hard prison and kidnappings, thanks to Silvio Berlusconi who wanted them. Others filled their mouths, held parades and marches, but we put our face to it, not to mention sometimes even our safety."[29]

Electoral history

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Election House Constituency Party Votes Result
1996 Senate of the Republic Monreale FI 50,226 checkY Elected
2001 Senate of the Republic Monreale FI 59,731 checkY Elected
2006 Senate of the Republic Sicily at-large FI –[a] checkY Elected
2008 Senate of the Republic Sicily at-large PdL –[a] checkY Elected
2013 Senate of the Republic Sicily at-large PdL –[a] checkY Elected
2018 Senate of the Republic Sicily at-large FI –[a] checkY Elected
  1. ^ a b c d Elected in a closed list proportional representation system.

First-past-the-post elections

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1996 general election (S): Sicily — Monreale
Candidate Coalition or party Votes %
Renato Schifani Pole of Freedoms 50,226 49.3
Michele Figurelli The Olive Tree 40,119 39.3
Salvatore Maltese Social Movement Tricolour Flame 5,054 5.0
Carlo Magno Pannella List 2,458 2.4
Others 4,122 4.0
Total 101,979 100.0
2001 general election (S): Sicily — Monreale
Candidate Coalition or party Votes %
Renato Schifani House of Freedoms 59,731 52.0
Michele Figurelli The Olive Tree 31,669 27.6
Giuseppe Ferrara European Democracy 13,795 12.0
Riccardo Incagnone Communist Refoundation Party 3,286 2.9
Others 6,304 5.5
Total 114,785 100.0

Personal life

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Schifani is married to Franca. Together, they have two sons, Roberto e Andrea, both of them being lawyers. On 13 November 2020, Schifani was appointed by Berlusconi as his political advisor.[1] Schifani is a supporter of Palermo FC and inaugurated the club's new sports centre as president of Sicily in 2022.[30][31] As a tifoso and president of the Senate, he was present at Madrid when Inter Milan won the 2010 UEFA Champions League final.[32][33] He also presented the Coppa Italia trophy to the winner in 2010 and 2011.[34][35]

Notes

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  1. ^ For the sentence, see "Sentenza n. 262/2009". Consulta Online (in Italian). 7 October 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  2. ^ For an overview of the Salvo family, see "L'impero dei Salvo". Eco di Ravanusa (in Italian). 2006. Retrieved 30 March 2024.

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Renato Schifani.
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Renato Schifani Presidente della Sicilia". Regione Sicilia (in Italian). 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Renato Schifani". Senato.it (in Italian). 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Schifani, Renato Giuseppe". Treccani (in Italian). 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2024. Updated through the years as of 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  4. ^ Colaiacomo, Massimo (4 May 2008). "Schifani al Senato, la sfida di essere presidente di tutti". Agenzia ANSA (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2 May 2008. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Il Palermo e Silvio, le passioni di Schifani". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 29 April 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Renato Schifani torna in Forza Italia". La Stampa (in Italian). 4 August 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  7. ^ Gomez, Peter; Travaglio, Marco (2008). Se li conosci li eviti. Raccomandati, riciclati, condannati, imputati, ignoranti, voltagabbana, fannulloni del nuovo Parlamento (in Italian). Milan: Chiarelettere. ISBN 978-88-6190-054-7.
  8. ^ Barbacetto, Gianni (20 November 2009). "Sostiene Schifani: condannate Tabucchi". MicroMega (in Italian). Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  9. ^ Gnocchi, Alessandro (21 November 2009). "Da 'Le Monde' a 'Micromega' tutti col Tabucchi anti-Schifani". Il Giornale (in Italian). Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  10. ^ Ruggiero, Giovanni (8 October 2009). "La sentenza della corte. Quel legame col lodo Schifani. L'analisi dei costituzionalisti". Avvenire (in Italian). Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  11. ^ D'Onghia, Silvia (11 September 2019). "La Corte sostiene Tabucchi: Schifani ko in Cassazione". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  12. ^ Krause-Jackson, Flavia (29 April 2008). "Italian Senate Elects Renato Schifani as its New President". Bloomberg. Retrieved 30 March 2024.[dead link‍]
  13. ^ a b "Una vita da Schifani". L'Espresso (in Italian). 13 August 2002. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  14. ^ RigatellI, Francesco (30 April 2008). "Berlusconi, Schifani ed il cattivo esempio". Il Sole 24 Ore (in Italian). Archived from the original on 3 May 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  15. ^ Travaglio, Marco (23 April 2008). "Uliwood Party" (in Italian).
  16. ^ "Schifani, colaborador de Berlusconi, nuevo presidente del Senado italiano". El País (in Spanish). 29 April 2008. ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Ecco uno stralcio da 'I complici'". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 14 May 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  18. ^ a b "La sentenza". La Repubblica (in Italian). 28 April 2007. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Patto mafia-politica per il megastore". La Repubblica (in Italian). 28 September 2007. Archived from the original on 25 December 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  20. ^ a b "'Villabate: Schifani e La Loggia concordarono il Prg con il boss'". La Repubblica. 11 May 2006. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  21. ^ "Mafia men get 300 years in jail". BBC News. 16 November 2006. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  22. ^ Piccolillo, Virginia (11 May 2006). "'Schifani diffamato da Travaglio' Il Pdl contro la Rai e Fazio". Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Fazio chiede scusa in Tv a Schifani 'Nessuna congiura o complotto'". La Repubblica (in Italian). 11 May 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  24. ^ a b Hooper, John (13 May 2008). "Compromised by compromise". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  25. ^ "Caso Travaglio, Schifani querela. Grillo attacca Fazio: 'È un impiegato'". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 12 May 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  26. ^ "Travaglio condannato, diffamò Schifani in tv". Il Giornale (in Italian). 19 June 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  27. ^ "Centre right's Schifani to win in Sicily − exit polls". Agenzia ANSA. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  28. ^ "Sicily: Schifani proclaimed president of the Region – Sicily". Italy 24 News. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  29. ^ "Schifani al congresso di Forza Italia: 'Ci siamo anche senza Berlusconi, è un miracolo'". PalermoToday (in Italian). 24 February 2024. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  30. ^ "Schifani: 'Sono un tifoso felice perché il Palermo avrà finalmente una sua casa'. Video". Giornale di Sicilia (in Italian). 21 October 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  31. ^ "Schifani: 'Da tifoso non potevo non essere qui. Felice per i giocatori'". TifosiPalermo (in Italian). 21 October 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  32. ^ "Schifani a Madrid per tifare i nerazzurri". Il Giornale (in Italian). 22 May 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  33. ^ "Calcio, finale Champions: il presidente del Senato Schifani al Bernabeu". L'Unione Sarda (in Italian). 22 May 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  34. ^ Casavecchia, Alberto (27 May 2011). "Coppa Italia: Schifani premierà la vincente". FC Inter News (in Italian). Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  35. ^ Senese, Giuseppe (27 May 2011). "Finale Coppa Italia 2011: una tra Inter e Palermo sarà premiata da Schifani". Calcio Fanpage (in Italian). Retrieved 30 March 2024.

Further reading

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  • Lirio, Abbate; Gomez, Peter (2007). I complici. Tutti gli uomini di Bernardo Provenzano da Corleone al Parlamento (in Italian). Rome: Fazi Editore. ISBN 978-88-8112-786-3.
Political offices
Preceded by President of the Senate of the Republic
2008–2013 		Succeeded by
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