European elections, closed lists: from Sgarbi to Salis the personalities enlisted by the parties

Somewhat surprisingly, the name of Vittorio Sgarbi, candidate with Fratelli d'Italia, has popped up. The general Roberto Vannacci will be running for the League throughout Italy (and chief candidate in central Italy), strongly desired by Matteo Salvini amid his party's discontent. Avs (Greens and Left Alliance) leaders Nicola Fratoianni and Angelo Bonelli have decided to nominate Ilaria Salis , the 39-year-old teacher and anti-fascist militant in prison in Hungary for 13 months accused of aggravated injuries to two neo-Nazis. Captain Ultimo (Sergio De Caprio), the general of the carabinieri who arrested mafia boss Totò Riina, has been enlisted by 'Libertà', the listone created by the mayor of Taormina and leader of Sud chiama Nord Cateno De Luca (in hospital for pneumonia).

These are some of the personalities who will be running in the European elections scheduled for 8 and 9 June: the picture of the lists for the five constituencies into which Italy is divided for the vote for the Euro Chamber is now complete as the deadline for depositing names was set for 8pm on 1 May.

As mentioned, the party of the premier Giorgia Meloni (leader in all constituencies) presents in its lists the art critic Sgarbi who three months ago had resigned as undersecretary of Culture after the Antitrust Authority's decision that defined some of his activities as 'incompatible' with the role of government: 'I decided to accept the candidature as an independent with Fratelli d'Italia,' Sgarbi explained. 'I'm free and I have a dowry of recognisable votes. At the 1999 European elections I took 100,000 in the North East, almost as many as Berlusconi'. The former undersecretary will be a candidate in the southern constituency but does not appear in Fratelli d'Italia's list hat.

A great-granddaughter of Giovanni Giolitti, Giovanna, and the grandson of the Minister of Defence, Guido Crosetto, Giovanni, are deployed in the North West.

The journalist Lucia Annunziata will open the PD list in the southern constituency together with the mayor of Bari and president of Anci, Antonio Decaro. In the North-West, Cecilia Strada, the daughter of Emergency founder Gino Strada, will be the leading candidate for the Dem party.