During the 1970s, Paolo Gentiloni was a member of the Student Movement (Movimento Studentesco), a far-left youth organization led byMario Capanna;[21] when Capanna founded theProletarian Democracy party, Gentiloni did not follow him, and joined the Workers' Movement for Socialism (Movimento Lavoratori per il Socialismo; MLS), a far-leftMaoist group, of which he became the regional secretary forLazio.[22] In 1981 Gentiloni followed the MLS into theProletarian Unity Party (Partito di Unità Proletaria; PdUP), remaining a member until its dissolution three years later.
Gentiloni slowly abandoned far-left ideals, sharing more moderate views and becoming particularly involved ingreen politics andecologism.[23] During those years he became a close friend ofChicco Testa who helped Gentiloni to become director ofLa Nuova Ecologia ("The New Ecology"), the official newspaper ofLegambiente. As director of this ecologist newspaper he met the young leader ofFederation of the Greens,Francesco Rutelli and became, along withRoberto Giachetti, Michele Anzaldi andFilippo Sensi, a member of the so-called "Rutelli boys", a group formed by Rutelli's closest advisors and supporters.[24]
In 1993 he became Rutelli's spokesman during his campaign to becomeMayor of Rome; after the election, which saw a strong victory by Rutelli againstGianfranco Fini, leader of the neo-fascistItalian Social Movement, Gentiloni was appointedGreat Jubilee and Tourism Councillor in theRome City Council.[25] Rutelli was reelected in 1997, with 985,000 popular votes, the highest share in the history of the city.[26]
Gentiloni held his office until January 2001, when Rutelli resigned to become the centre-left candidate to the premiership in the2001 general election. However Rutelli was soundly defeated by former prime ministerSilvio Berlusconi with 35.1% of votes against 49.6%.[27]
In the 2001 general election, Gentiloni was elected as a Member of Parliament and started his national political career. In 2002 he was a founding member of the Christian leftistThe Daisy party, being the party's communications spokesman for five years.[28] From 2005 until 2006, he was Chairman of the Broadcasting Services Watchdog Committee; the committee oversees the activity of state broadcasterRAI, which is publicly funded.[29] He was reelected in the2006 election as a member ofThe Olive Tree, the political coalition led by the Bolognese economistRomano Prodi. After the centre-left's victory, Gentiloni served as Minister for Communications inProdi's second government from 2006 until 2008.[30]
As minister Gentiloni planned to reform theItalian television system, with the defeat of theGasparri Law, the previous reform proposed by the centre-right lawmakerMaurizio Gasparri.[31] The reform provided, between other things, the reduction of advertising.[32] However, in 2007, the government suffered a crisis and lost its majority, so the reform had never been approved.[33] The "Gentiloni Reform" bill of 12 October 2006, established the existence of amarket dominance where a subject exceeded 45% of advertising sales and abolished the "integrated communication system" (SIC) introduced by the Gasparri Law. The law also lowered the maximum advertising threshold for TV from 18% to 16%, to encourage redistribution, and provided for the transfer to digital of one network each for RAI and Mediaset by 2009, thus freeing up frequencies and imposing the obligation to sell (Europa 7 affair). However, the bill will not be approved.
In May 2007 a second reform text was launched that concerns only the RAI (Senate Act no. 1588/2007). Among the main aspects, the property should have passed from the Ministry of Economy to a Foundation; there would also have been a separation between TV financed by the fee and TV financed by advertising, and the rules for appointing the board of directors would have changed. However, the reform will not be approved.
He was one of the 45 members of the national founding committee of theDemocratic Party in 2007, formed by the union of the social democratsDemocrats of the Left and the Christian leftist The Daisy.[34] Gentiloni was re-elected in the2008 general election, which saw the victory of theconservative coalition led bySilvio Berlusconi. In this legislature, he was a member of the Committee regarding Transport and Telecommunications.
On 6 April 2013 he ran in the primary election to select the center-left candidate forMayor of Rome, placing third, with 14% of votes, afterIgnazio Marino (51%), who became Mayor, and the journalistDavid Sassoli, who gained 28%.[35][36] After the defeat in the primary election, many political commentators believed that Gentiloni's career as a prominent member of the centre-left was over.[37]
As foreign minister, Gentiloni tried to trace an intermediate path for Italy in the scenario of multiple crises that surrounds it, from the wars in Libya and Syria to tensions with Russia. Gentiloni showed a strong closeness to his US counterpartJohn Kerry and kept open a channel of dialogue with the RussianSergei Lavrov.
On 13 February 2015, during an interview onSky TG24, Gentiloni stated that "if needed, Italy will be ready to fight inLibya against theIslamic State, because the Italian government can not accept the idea that there is an active terrorist threat only a few hours from Italy by boat."[40] The following day Gentiloni was threatened by ISIL, which accused him of being acrusader, minister of an enemy country.[41]
On 11 July 2015, acar bomb exploded outside the Italian consulate in theEgyptian capitalCairo, resulting in at least one death and four people injured; the Islamic State claimed responsibility.[43][44][45] On the same day Gentiloni stated that "Italy will not be intimidated" and would continue the fight against terrorism.[46]
In December 2015, Gentiloni hosted a peace conference in Rome with the representatives from both governments of Libya involved in thecivil war, but also from theUnited Nations, the United States andRussia.[47]
As foreign minister, Gentiloni had to confront various abductions of Italian citizens. In January 2015, he negotiated the release of Vanessa Marzullo and Greta Ramelli, two Italian students andactivists who had been held hostage by Syrian terrorists for 168 days.[48]
Another high-profile case was themurder of Giulio Regeni, an ItalianCambridge University graduate student killed in Cairo following his abduction on 25 January 2016;[49] He was a Ph.D. student researching Egypt's independent trade unions.[50][51] Regeni's mutilated and half-naked corpse was found in a ditch alongside theCairo-Alexandria highway on the outskirts ofCairo on 3 February 2016. His recovered body showed signs of extreme torture likecontusions andabrasions, extensive bruising from kicks, punches, and assault with a stick, more than two dozen bone fractures, a brain hemorrhage and a broken cervical vertebra, which ultimately caused death.[52][53] The Egyptian police was strongly suspected of involvement in his murder in Europe,[54] although Egypt's media and government deny this, alleging secret undercover agents belonging to theMuslim Brotherhood in Egypt carried out the crime in order to embarrass the Egyptian government and destabilize relations between Italy and Egypt.[55][56]
In the2016 United Nations Security Council election, Gentiloni and his Dutch counterpartBert Koenders agreed on splitting a two-year term on theUnited Nations Security Council after theUnited Nations General Assembly was deadlocked on whether to choose Italy or the Netherlands following five rounds of voting for the last remaining 2017–18 seat.[57] Such arrangements were relatively common in deadlocked elections starting in the late 1950s until 1966, when the Security Council was enlarged. This however would be the first time in over five decades that two members agreed to split a term; intractable deadlocks have instead usually been resolved by the candidate countries withdrawing in favour of a third member state.
Gentiloni withMatteo Renzi during the swearing-in ceremony.
On 7 December 2016, Prime MinisterMatteo Renzi announced his resignation, following the rejection of his proposals to overhaul theSenate in the2016 Italian constitutional referendum. On 11 December, Gentiloni was asked by President Mattarella to form a new government.[58] On 12 December, Gentiloni was officially sworn in as the new head of the government.[59]
Gentiloni led a coalition government supported by theDemocratic Party (PD) and the Christian democraticPopular Area, composed of theNew Centre-Right (NCD) and theCentrists for Italy. This was the same majority that had supported Renzi's government for almost three years.[60] Meanwhile, the centristLiberal Popular Alliance (ALA), led byDenis Verdini, did not support the new cabinet because no member of the ALA was appointed as a minister.[61]
On 13 December, Gentiloni's cabinet won a confidence vote in theChamber of Deputies, with 368 votes for and 105 against, while the deputies of theFive Star Movement (M5S) andLega Nord left the chamber.[62] On the following day, the government also won a confidence vote in the Senate, with 169 votes for and 99 against.[63]
On 29 December, deputy ministers of the PD, NCD, theItalian Socialist Party, andSolidary Democracy, were appointed. After the split ofArticle One from the PD, that party was presented by one deputy minister in the government.
On 19 May 2017, the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of Prime Minister Gentiloni and Health MinisterBeatrice Lorenzin, approved a decree law containing urgentvaccine prevention measures that reintroduced the mandatory vaccination, bringing the number of mandatory vaccines from 4 to 12 and not allowing those who have not been vaccinated to attend school.[69][70]
On 14 December 2017, the Parliament officially approved a law concerning theadvance healthcare directive, better known as "living will", a legal document in which a person specifies what actions should be taken for their health if they are no longer able to make decisions for themselves because of illness or incapacity. With this law, living will has become legal inItaly.[71] The law also provided the refusal of end-of-life cares.[72] The bill was harshly opposed by many Christian democratic and social conservative politicians ofForza Italia,Lega Nord,Brothers of Italy and even PD's allyPopular Alternative, while it was supported by PD,Five Star Movement,Article One andItalian Left.[73]
TheCatholic Church, led byPope Francis, did not put up major objections to the living will law, saying that a balance needed to be struck with the prevention of excessive treatment or therapeutic obstinacy.[74]
In March 2017 the government abolished the use of labourvouchers, bonds of the redeemable transaction type which are worth a certainmonetary value and which may be spent only for specific reasons or on specific goods, commonly one-off labour services.[75] The government decided to promote this law after areferendum that was called by Italy's main trade unionCGIL.[76] Gentiloni stated that he decided to abolish them, because he did not want to split the country in another referendum, after theDecember 2016 constitutional one.[77]
In March 2018, theunemployment rate was around 11%, lower than the previous years, and the percentage of unemployed young people was the lowest since 2011, at 31.7%.[78] This data were seeing by many as the proof of a robusteconomic recovery started in 2013, after theeuro area crisis that affected Italy in 2011.[79]
A major problem faced by Gentiloni upon becoming prime minister in 2016 was the high levels ofillegal immigration to Italy. On 2 February 2017, Gentiloni reached a deal inRome with LibyanChairman of the Presidential CouncilFayez al-Sarraj on halting migration. Libya agreed to try to stop migrants from setting out to cross theMediterranean Sea.[80] On 9 February, Gentiloni signed a similar deal with President of TunisiaBeji Caid Essebsi, to prevent the migration across the Mediterranean.[81]
During his premiership, Gentiloni and his Interior Minister,Marco Minniti, promoted stricter policies regardingimmigration andpublic security, to reduce the number of immigrants toward Italy and to counteract the populist propaganda promoted by the far-rightNorthern League.[82] In July 2017 the government promoted the so-called "Minniti Code", which must be subscribed by theNGOs that are involved in rescuing asylum seekers in the Mediterranean.[83]
Among other things, the code forbids NGO vessels from enteringLibyan territorial waters.[84] Minniti and Gentiloni warned those NGOs who did not sign the pact that they have set themselves "outside of the organised system for rescue at sea". Some NGOs refused to sign the new code of conduct;Médecins Sans Frontières was the first charity to officially announce its 'no' to the code, saying that there were no conditions under which to sign. Facing growing public discontent and scrutiny by the Italian, Libyan, and EU authorities, MSF had to suspend its activities in the Mediterranean sea.[85] The German NGO, Sea Watch, said that the code was "largely illegal" and "will not save lives but will have the opposite effect".[86]
In December 2017, the Gentiloni announced thepeacekeeping mission which consists in the sending of 450 soldiers inNiger, to help the local forces in the fight against migrants' traffickers andIslamic terrorism.[87] The deal was reached along with French PresidentEmmanuel Macron, who stated that French troops, which were already in the area, will cooperate with Italian ones.[88][89]
After the rejection of the constitutional reform, the Parliament had to change theelectoral law proposed by Renzi's government; in fact the so-calledItalicum regulates only the election of the Chamber of Deputies, and not that of the Senate, which, if the reform passed, would beindirectly elected by citizens. The PD proposed a new electoral law calledMattarellum bis, better known asRosatellum,[90] from the name of his main proponent Ettore Rosato, Democratic leader in theChamber of Deputies.[91] This electoral law was similar to the one which was applied in Italy from 1993 to 2005.[92]
Despite many protests from theFive Star Movement andArticle One, which accused Renzi and Gentiloni to have used theconfidence vote in order to approve the law,[96] on 12 October the electoral law was approved by the Chamber of Deputies with 375 votes in favor and 215 against.[97]
On 16 and 17 May, Paolo Gentiloni went toSochi, where he met Russian PresidentVladimir Putin. The two leaders stressed their hope for a re-opening of a dialogue between Russia andNATO. They also signed six economic deals between the Italian Eni and the RussianRosneft.[110]
Gentiloni with Indian Prime Minister,Narendra Modi, in October 2017
On 29 and 30 October, Gentiloni went toIndia, where he met Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.[112] After some years of tensions due to the 2012Enrica Lexie case, in which two Italianmarines were arrested for killing two fishermen inKerala, the two countries revived normal relations.[113] The two leaders signed some economic treaties and discussed the recognition of theHare Krishnas, who still are not recognized in Italy as areligious minority.[114] Gentiloni was the first Italian leader to visit India sinceRomano Prodi in 2007; Gentiloni and Modi described the visit as a "new beginning" and a great opportunity for both countries.[115]
During his term as foreign affairs minister and especially during his premiership, Gentiloni started a policy review which led to the creation of the Italy–Africa initiative, which includesrenewable energy cooperation and a new package of development aid in fields stretching from health care to culture; counterterrorism has been a key part of his agenda, but theWest Africa region is also important to stop the migration flows from there to Italy throughNorth Africa, especiallyLibya.[116] In November 2017 he started one of the most important foreign mission of his tenure. On 24 November, Gentiloni visitedTunisia, where he met PresidentBeji Caid Essebsi and Prime MinisterYoussef Chahed, with whom he discussed the migrant crisis, the fight against terrorism and theLibyan Civil War. He also had a meeting with the Italian community inTunis.[117] On 26 November he moved toAngola, where he had a bilateral meeting with PresidentJoão Lourenço; the two leaders signed many economic deals between Eni and the AngolanSonangol Group.[118] On the following days Gentiloni went toGhana to meet PresidentNana Akufo-Addo and visit Eni's plant named "John Agyekum Kufuor".[119] On 28 November he moved toIvory Coast to participate at the EU–African Union summit.[120]
On 28 December 2017, after meeting with Gentiloni, PresidentSergio Mattarella dissolved the Parliament and called new elections for 4 March 2018.[121] Gentiloni remained in office during this period as a caretaker Prime Minister.[122] During the2018 Italian general election campaign, many prominent members of the Democratic Party, includingRomano Prodi,Walter Veltroni, andCarlo Calenda, publicly askedMatteo Renzi to renounce his candidacy for Prime Minister and promote Gentiloni as the party's candidate.[123][124] Gentiloni refused to endorse the view of his colleagues, and Renzi remained within the party leadership .[125][126]
The election resulted in the centre-right alliance, led byMatteo Salvini'sLeague, winning aplurality of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and in the Senate, while the anti-establishmentFive Star Movement, led byLuigi Di Maio, became the party with the largest individual number of votes; the centre-left coalition, led by Renzi and the Democratic Party, finished third.[127][128] After negotiations lasting several months, the League and the Five Star Movement agreed a programme for acoalition government led by theindependentGiuseppe Conte; Gentiloni resigned as prime minister on 1 June 2018.
Gentiloni chose not to contest the leadership of the Democratic Party, instead remaining on the backbench within the Chamber of Deputies, where he frequently attacked the policies ofMatteo Salvini asInterior Minister, particularly onimmigration,Romani people andgun laws.[129][130] On 28 June 2018, during an interview withLilli Gruber'sOtto e mezzo, Gentiloni announced his intention to play a role in the formation of a broadcentre-left coalition, which was seen by many as an intention to become the candidate for prime minister of the centre-left at the next election.[131] Nothing came of these plans; in October 2018, Gentiloni endorsedNicola Zingaretti in theelection for the new PD Secretary.[132][133] After Zingaretti won the election in March 2019, he appointed Gentiloni as the President of the Democratic Party.[134]
Gentiloni before theEuropean Parliament as candidate for Commissioner for Economy.
In August 2019, tensions between theLeague andFive Star Movement (5SM) became public, leading to a motion of no-confidence inGiuseppe Conte as prime minister.[135] Conte initially offered his resignation, but in a surprise move, Gentiloni led the national executive of the Democratic Party in announcing it would be open to the possibility of forming a new coalition with the M5S, based on pro-Europeanism,green economy,sustainable development, the fight againsteconomic inequality and a new immigration policy, and while keeping Conte as prime minister.[136][137] On 29 August 2019, PresidentSergio Mattarella invited Conte to form anew coalition government between 5SM and the PD, with several PD politicians entering the Cabinet.[138] On 5 September 2019, the new Cabinet was sworn in; later that afternoon, following the first meeting of the new Cabinet, Conte announced that the Government had decided to nominate Gentiloni as the newItalian European Commissioner within theVon der Leyen Commission.[139]
On 10 September,Ursula von der Leyen announced that she would hand Gentiloni the role ofCommissioner for Economy if he was successfully approved by theEuropean Parliament.[140] On 3 October, theCommittee on Economic and Monetary Affairs approved Gentiloni's nomination for the role.[141] On 30 November, Gentiloni announced his retirement from theChamber of Deputies, after almost 19 years of service.[142] The resignation became effective on 2 December.[143] During his final speech to the Chamber, he said: "I make a solemn commitment to hold together the national and European interests. I am an Italian man in love with Italy, I am apatriot, and I will try to make it clear that the best way to protect the national interest is to do so in the European dimension."[144] On 1 December 2019, he formally began his new role within theEuropean Commission.[145]
In early March 2020, Gentiloni was appointed by President von der Leyen to serve on the Commission's special task force to coordinate their response to theCOVID-19 pandemic, which severely affected the European Union.[146] The task force's plan consisted in theNext Generation EU program, an economic recovery package to support member states adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Agreed to by theEuropean Council on 21 July 2020, the fund is worth€750 billion. The NGEU fund will operate from 2021 to 2023, and will be tied to the regular2021–2027 budget of the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The comprehensive NGEU and MFF packages are projected to reach €1824.3 billion.[147]
While traditionally supporting thesocial integration of immigrants, since 2017 Paolo Gentiloni has adopted a more critical approach on the issue.[154] Inspired byMarco Minniti, his Interior Minister, the government promoted stricter policies regardingimmigration andpublic security.[155][156] These policies resulted in broad criticism from the left-wingArticle One, PD's partners in the cabinet which later left the government's majority, as well as left-leaning intellectuals likeRoberto Saviano andGad Lerner.[157] In August Lerner, who was among the founding members of the Democratic Party, left the party altogether, due to the government's new immigration policies.[158]
Gentiloni is considered by manyjournalists,politicians and commentators a skilled political mediator and well-wisher of a collective leadership, based onconsociationalism and power-sharing, very different from the overflowing political style of his predecessor and former party mate,Matteo Renzi.[159] Due to his nature and political views, Gentiloni was sometimes compared toRomano Prodi, former prime minister and founder of thecentre-left coalition.[160]
According to public opinion surveys in December 2017, after one year of government, Gentiloni's approval rating was 44%, the second highest rating after that of PresidentSergio Mattarella, and far higher than the other prominent politicians; moreover his approval rating has increased since he came into office.[161][162] After the 2018 general election, Gentiloni's approval rating rose to 52%, higher than every other political leader and followed byLeague's leaderMatteo Salvini.[163]
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