Gianluca Buonanno

Gianluca Buonanno
Mayor of Borgosesia
In office 25 May 2014 – 5 June 2016
Preceded by	Alice Freschi
Succeeded by	Alice Freschi
Member of the European Parliament for North-West Italy
In office 1 July 2014 – 5 June 2016
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 29 April 2008 – 25 June 2014
Personal details
Born	(1966-05-15)15 May 1966 Borgosesia, Italy
Died	5 June 2016(2016-06-05) (aged 50) Gorla Maggiore, Italy
Political party	LN (2002–2016)
Other political affiliations	AN (1995–2002) MSI (1982–1995)
Children	2
Profession	Politician

Gianluca Buonanno (15 May 1966 – 5 June 2016) was an Italian far-right politician. At the time of his death, Buonanno was mayor of Borgosesia and member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Lega Nord. During his career, Buonanno generated controversy and public uproar.

Biography

Buonanno was born Borgosesia, province of Vercelli, in the Piedmont region. He was affiliated with the Italian Social Movement (MSI) from 1982 to 1995, when he switched to the MSI's legal successor National Alliance (AN). Buonanno left AN for Lega Nord in 2002. He was elected in the XVI and XVII legislature of Italy and in the 2014 European Parliament election for the eighth European Parliament. 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 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.[1][2] His funeral was held in the parish church of Serravalle Sesia, where Lega Nord leader Matteo Salvini was also present.[3]

Political views and controversies

Buonanno was known for having shown attitudes typical of Italian far-right politics and generating controversy and public uproar. Multiple times he expressed opinions, judged to be homophobic, 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."[4] In 2013, he stated: "At Gay Pride you can see scenes that are disgusting, horrifying scenes. [Gay] Pride sucks. If a gay person approaches me, does some flirting and he pisses me off, I kick him in the balls."[5]

In April 2014, Buonanno had waved a sea bass in the Italian Parliament arguing that, unlike immigrants who he claimed were kept in luxury hotels, pensioners cannot afford it, and invited the then Chambers of Deputies president Laura Boldrini to eat it.[6][7][8] In September 2014, Buonanno declared: "In Borgosesia 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. At most I would offer to gays bananas or fennel salad."[9][a]

In 2015, Buonanno sided against the Romani people, saying: "Romanis are the scum of society." Because of this, in April 2016 the Court of Milan upheld an appeal filed by the ASGI (Association of Legal Studies on Immigration) and NAGA (Voluntary Association of Social-Health Assistance and for the Rights of Foreign Citizens, Romani and Sinti) associations and sentenced Buonanno to the payment of €6,000 in favour of each of the recurring associations as compensation for non-pecuniary damage.[11]

Notes

1. "Fennel" (in Italian: finocchio, plural finocchi) designates a well-known Italian term usage to refer a male homosexual, in an offensive and homophobic way, similar as faggot in English.[10]

References

1. Pucciarelli, Matteo (5 June 2016). "E' morto Gianluca Buonanno: l'eurodeputato della Lega vittima di un incidente stradale" [Gianluca Buonanno died: Lega MEP victim of a traffic collision]. La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 5 June 2016.
2. "Provocative Italian politician dies in car crash, aged 50". The Local. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
3. "I funerali di Gianluca Buonanno: Matteo Salvini commosso" [Gianluca Buonanno's funeral: Matteo Salvini emotionally moved]. Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 24 February 2019.
4. "Omofobia, Buonanno (Lega): 'Un Insegnante Gay Mi Molestò A Scuola'" [Homophobia, Buonanno (Lega): "A gay teacher harassed me in school"]. Iris Press (in Italian). Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
5. "Buonanno (Lega Nord): 'Il Gay Pride fa schifo, scene orripilanti che disturbano bambini. Se un omosessuale si avvicina gli do un calcio nei coglioni'" [Buonanno (Lega Nord): "Gay Pride sucks, horrifying scenes that disturb children. If a homosexual approaches, I kick him in the balls"]. Osservatorio Nazionale Omotransfobia (in Italian). 2013. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
6. "Lega, Buonanno sventola una spigola in Aula contro Boldrini. Di Maio lo espelle" [Lega, Buonanno waves a bass in the Chamber against Boldrini. Di Maio expels him]. Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). 1 April 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
7. "Buonanno, la spigola costa 2.500 euro" [Buonanno, the sea bass costs him a 2,500 euros fine]. La Stampa (in Italian). 29 April 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
8. "Addio a Gianluca Buonanno: tutte le provocazioni del leghista" [Goodbye to Gianluca Buonanno: all the provocations of the Lega Nord member]. La Repubblica (in Italian). 5 June 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
9. "L'eurodeputato leghista boccia le nozze gay: 'Al massimo gli offro una banana o un'insalata di finocchio'" [Lega Nord MEP rejects gay wedding: "At most I would offer them bananas or fennel salad"]. Il Giornale (in Italian). 14 September 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
10. Dall'Orto, Giovanni Dall'Orto. "G. Dall'Orto: checcabolario" (in Italian). Retrieved 24 February 2019.
11. "Buonanno condannato. Aveva detto: i Rom sono la feccia della società" [Buonanno sentenced. He said: Romanis are the scum of society]. Quotidiano Piemontese (in Italian). 16 April 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2019.