Guglielmo Giannini | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theChamber of Deputies | |
| In office 8 May 1948 – 24 June 1953 | |
| Constituency | Rome |
| Member of theConstituent Assembly | |
| In office 25 June 1946 – 31 January 1948 | |
| Constituency | Rome |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1891-10-14)14 October 1891 |
| Died | 13 October 1960(1960-10-13) (aged 68) |
| Party | UQ(1946–1949) DC(1953–1958) PMP(1958–1960) |
| Profession | Politician, journalist, writer, director, dramaturge |
Guglielmo Giannini (14 October 1891 – 13 October 1960) was an Italian politician, journalist, writer, director anddramaturge.
Guglielmo Giannini was born in Pozzuoli, by Federico Giannini and Mary Jackson, and grew up inNaples. He practised many different trades (from bricklayer to a clerk in a cloth shop) before coming to journalism, in modest satirical papers. Travelling around Europe, he became fond of the crime novel and began to write in this genre.
Subsequently, guided by his father, he pursued a journalistic career. He fought as a volunteer in theItalo-Turkish War (1911–1912) and participated in theFirst World War. At the end of the "Great War", he moved to Rome and returned to the profession of journalist. During this period he also began to work as a playwright.
Opposed to Italy's entry into theSecond World War (a stance dictated by his conviction that defeat was certain), he struggled to find work.
In 1942, during the war, his son Mario died in a plane crash at theFalconara Marittima airport. This tragedy inspired the essayLa folla, published in 1946, and resulted in his adopting a general hatred for the political class, and in particular for its leaders, irrespective of political affiliation.
In 1943, Giannini also directed four feature films in a year, includingGrattacieli and4 ragazze sognano, both withPaolo Stoppa as the protagonist.
On 27 December 1944 Giannini founded a new weekly, "L'Uomo qualunque" (translatable asThe Common Man orThe Ordinary Man), which in May 1945 exceeded 800 thousand copies.
Tired of the fascist dictatorship and the intrusion of politics in the lives of private citizens, but also of the return of traditional parties, Giannini, following the success of the weekly newspaper, founded an opinion movement calledCommon Man's Front.[1] The movement, based on a new political pseudo-ideology, called "qualunquismo". It received 5.3% of the votes in the parliamentary election of 1946, getting 30 deputies to the Constituent assembly, including Giannini himself, who became group leader in the Parliament.
In 1947, Giannini, after having tried an alliance with theChristian Democracy and theItalian Social Movement, approached the communist leaderPalmiro Togliatti, whom two years before he had described as "worm, rogue and forger". Many sympathizers of the Common Man's Front, astounded by this choice, abandoned Giannini, who then renounced the pact of friendship with theItalian Communist Party to make an alliance with theItalian Liberal Party instead. In the parliamentary election of 1948 the FUQ-PLI alliance obtained only 3.8% of the vote; Giannini was elected to the Chamber and joined theMixed Group. After the electoral failure, Giannini resigned as president of the Common Man's Frontin October 1948.[2] In 1953, Giannini was a candidate with the Christian Democracy and in 1958 with thePeople's Monarchist Party, but in both cases he was not elected.
| Election | House | Constituency | Party | Votes | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Constituent Assembly | Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone | FUQ | 59,555 |  YElected | |
| 1948 | Chamber of Deputies | Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone | BN | 13,095 | YElected | |
| 1953 | Chamber of Deputies | Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone | DC | 13,439 |  NNot elected | |
| 1958 | Chamber of Deputies | Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone | PMP | 4,967 | NNot elected | |
