by Antonella Cardone for “Il Riformista”
Love, betrayal, sex, and revenge were the watchwords of the latest election campaign, and sex, in its many forms, is seeping from every pore of Bologna's politics this time around. Once again, past the stories of alleged lovers of failed mayoral candidate Maurizio Cevenini and the trips paid for with public funds by the girlfriend of resigning mayor Flavio Delbono, after a year and a half under special administration, this will perhaps be remembered as the "depressed penis" election campaign.
In fact, it was that of a disembodied member that was tagged on Facebook by a candidate for Sinistra e Libertà, Antonietta Laterza. After filing the necessary reports and complaints against the anonymous wit, she bluntly described it as a "political prank, an insult, a smear," which came the day after Beppe Grillo bid farewell to his rally in Piazza Maggiore with a "At salut, buson," "I salute you, big-ass," addressed to Nichi Vendola, who would arrive in the square shortly after.
ANTONIETTA LATERZA: A low-brow joke from a second-rate comedian that infuriated the entire left, from Arcigay, and revived a debate on machismo unlike anything we've seen in a long time. "He's seeking easy applause from the audience with sexist and populist jokes from the sports bar. That's exactly what our Prime Minister does, and it doesn't sit well with anyone who claims to represent something new in the stale Italian political landscape," attacks Arcigay. "Grillo's language seems a bit excessively sexist, a bit in reliance on a sexist and macho code," insists Vendola.
ANTONIETTA LATERZA No sooner had I caught my breath than a Northern League candidate came out in the local newspaper, l'Informazione: "I'm gay." He went on to say, "I even made a gay porn film." Stefano Guida, 26, a hairdresser whose family was a Communist Party member until a few years ago, but now all converted to the Northern League, surprised everyone. But not those in the Northern League, who, he claims, "see if you believe in the values of the League, and nothing else," but fears, "Now that I've said it, maybe the League will expel me...".
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And he then reveals that when Rosi Mauro came to Bologna the last time and handed out red roses to female voters, he asked for one for himself, and Mauro, with a sweet smile—as sweet as that's possible—winked at him as she handed him the rose. "She understood that I was gay and had no problems," Guida claims.
VENDOLA
And what about Cinzia Cracchi's return to the media spotlight? After being the undisputed star of the 2009 election campaign with the accusations that led to the legal sex scandal that rocked Delbono, she aimed to be a frontrunner in this one too, running with a newly formed civic list. She wants to be a city councilor as a "symbol of all women mistreated by men," she says.
Vendola
She detailed further gossip about her relationship with Delbono: "I've always been faithful to him, but he wasn't. He loved as many women as there are porticos in Bologna." This was a nice touch to allow Roberto Benigni, who arrived in the city a couple of days ago to inaugurate an exhibition dedicated to him, to score with a remark: "But here in Bologna you're worse than Berlusconi!" The city of the three Ts (towers, tortellini, and breasts) and of women renowned for their oral sex skills wasn't too upset.
But she trembled when she heard Cinzia, a guest on "Un giorno da conigli," discussing the beauty of Italian politicians over the radio speakers. "The most handsome is definitely Silvio Berlusconi. He's youthful, he's charming. I wish I could be his girlfriend! Silvio!!!! I work at the Regional Government, call the switchboard asking for me!" She concluded, shaking her blond hair, with a winking "Well, if he called the police station about Ruby..." […]
