Clemente Mastella
Encyclopedia
Mario Clemente Mastella (born 5 February 1947) is an Italian
politician. He is currently leader of Popular-UDEUR, a minor centrist Italian party. He was Minister of Labour in the Berlusconi
government from 10 May 1994 to 17 January 1995, and Minister of Justice
in the Prodi
government from 17 May 2006 to 17 January 2008. In addition Mastella is also mayor
of his native town, Ceppaloni
.
, province of Benevento
.
A former long-time member of the Christian Democracy
party and Member of Parliament since 1976, after the break-up of his party in 1994 Mastella founded a new party, called Centro Cristiano Democratico, together with Pierferdinando Casini. After the victory of Silvio Berlusconi
in the 1994 elections, he was successively appointed as Minister of Labour.
In 1998, after the fall of Romano Prodi
's first government, Mastella decided to follow Francesco Cossiga
, lifetime senator and former Italian Republic President. He left his party to found the Cristiano Democratici per la Repubblica, then Unione Democratici per la Repubblica. This new political party, which supported the new centre-left government led by Massimo D'Alema
, lasted only one year however; in 1999, Mastella took over the leadership of UDEUR (then Popular-UDEUR).
In 2005, Mastella decided to take part in the primary election
for the leadership of The Union. He obtained 4.6% of the votes.
Clemente Mastella and the President of the Sicilian Region Salvatore Cuffaro
were involved in a scandal when it was found that they had been the best men of Francesco Campanella, a former member of the Mafia
that helped the boss Bernardo Provenzano
during his absconding. In July 2000, Mastella was a witness at Campanella's wedding.
, but the proposal was dropped after opposition by historians and concerns about such a law being unconstitutional.
As Minister of Justice
, Mastella received an "Advice of Judicial Proceedings" in February 2007 from the Naples prosecutors’ office. He is being investigated for fraudulent bankruptcy
when the Naples football club S.S.C. Napoli
collapsed in 2004. Mastella was vice president of the Board of Directors.
In September 2007 he has asked the Higher Council of the Magistracy to arrange the transfer of the prosecuting attorney of Catanzaro Luigi De Magistris
, who was inquiring on a committee of illegal transactions composed by politicians (including Mastella himself) and magistrates.
In May 2007, Mastella opened a blog
of his own (clementemastella.blogspot.com) in retaliation to criticism by the Italian comedian and political activist Beppe Grillo
.
Mastella's wife, Sandra Lonardo, is also a UDEUR politician, and she acts as president of the Regional Council of Campania. She has been under house arrest for suspected bribery since January 16, 2008. Meanwhile, Clemente Mastella resigned from his position as Justice Minister; in announcing his resignation, he said that "between the love of my family and power I choose the former" and expressed his desire to be "more free from a political and personal point of view". Prodi rejected the resignation, but on January 17 Mastella said again that he was resigning. Prodi was to temporarily take over his portfolio.
Mastella's decision occurred a few days after a decision by the Constitutional Court
which confirmed that there would be a referendum
to modify the electoral system. As stated many times by Mastella, if the referendum was confirmed this would lead directly to the fall of the government and in fact this is what happened.
The fall of the government disrupted a pending election-law referendum that, if it had been passed, would have made it harder for small parties like Mastella's to gain seats in parliament.
On February 6, 2008, Mastella announced that he would be part of Silvio Berlusconi's Casa delle Libertà. but on March 1, Berlusconi refused to form a coalition with Mastella, citing too many differences in their political programmes.
After failing to secure a coalition with any other political party, Mastella decided to quit the electoral competition on March 7, as the Italian electoral system subjects political parties not a part of a coalition to thresholds of 4% and 8% for the Chamber and the Senate, respectively.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
politician. He is currently leader of Popular-UDEUR, a minor centrist Italian party. He was Minister of Labour in the Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
government from 10 May 1994 to 17 January 1995, and Minister of Justice
Italian Minister of Justice
This is a list of Italian Ministers of Justice since 1946.-External links:* *...
in the Prodi
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...
government from 17 May 2006 to 17 January 2008. In addition Mastella is also mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of his native town, Ceppaloni
Ceppaloni
Ceppaloni is a comune in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 50 km northeast of Naples and about 9 km south of Benevento...
.
Political career
Mastella was born in CeppaloniCeppaloni
Ceppaloni is a comune in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 50 km northeast of Naples and about 9 km south of Benevento...
, province of Benevento
Province of Benevento
The Province of Benevento is a province in the Campania region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Benevento.It has an area of 2,071 km², and a total population of 289,455...
.
A former long-time member of the Christian Democracy
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
party and Member of Parliament since 1976, after the break-up of his party in 1994 Mastella founded a new party, called Centro Cristiano Democratico, together with Pierferdinando Casini. After the victory of Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
in the 1994 elections, he was successively appointed as Minister of Labour.
In 1998, after the fall of Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...
's first government, Mastella decided to follow Francesco Cossiga
Francesco Cossiga
Francesco Cossiga was an Italian politician, the 43rd Prime Minister and the eighth President of the Italian Republic. He was also a professor of constitutional law at the University of Sassari....
, lifetime senator and former Italian Republic President. He left his party to found the Cristiano Democratici per la Repubblica, then Unione Democratici per la Repubblica. This new political party, which supported the new centre-left government led by Massimo D'Alema
Massimo D'Alema
Massimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left...
, lasted only one year however; in 1999, Mastella took over the leadership of UDEUR (then Popular-UDEUR).
In 2005, Mastella decided to take part in the primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
for the leadership of The Union. He obtained 4.6% of the votes.
Clemente Mastella and the President of the Sicilian Region Salvatore Cuffaro
Salvatore Cuffaro
Salvatore "Totò" Cuffaro is an Italian politician, former President of Sicily, currently serving a 7 years sentence for aiding the Mafia...
were involved in a scandal when it was found that they had been the best men of Francesco Campanella, a former member of the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
that helped the boss Bernardo Provenzano
Bernardo Provenzano
Bernardo Provenzano is a member of the Sicilian Mafia and is suspected of having been the head of the Corleonesi, a Mafia faction that originated in the village of Corleone, and de facto capo di tutti capi of the entire Sicilian Mafia until his arrest in 2006.His nickname is Binnu u tratturi...
during his absconding. In July 2000, Mastella was a witness at Campanella's wedding.
Minister of Justice
In 2006, Mastella became minister of Justice in the Prodi government. Mastella promoted a general amnesty in 2006. He also proposed the penalising Holocaust denialHolocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
, but the proposal was dropped after opposition by historians and concerns about such a law being unconstitutional.
As Minister of Justice
Italian Minister of Justice
This is a list of Italian Ministers of Justice since 1946.-External links:* *...
, Mastella received an "Advice of Judicial Proceedings" in February 2007 from the Naples prosecutors’ office. He is being investigated for fraudulent bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
when the Naples football club S.S.C. Napoli
S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....
collapsed in 2004. Mastella was vice president of the Board of Directors.
In September 2007 he has asked the Higher Council of the Magistracy to arrange the transfer of the prosecuting attorney of Catanzaro Luigi De Magistris
Luigi de Magistris (magistrate)
Luigi de Magistris is the Mayor of Naples and a former prosecutor. He started his career as a public prosecutor in 1995 and worked in Naples from 1998 to 2002. He was deputy public prosecutor in Catanzaro, Italy, from 2002 to 2009 and was a Member of the European Parliament...
, who was inquiring on a committee of illegal transactions composed by politicians (including Mastella himself) and magistrates.
In May 2007, Mastella opened a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
of his own (clementemastella.blogspot.com) in retaliation to criticism by the Italian comedian and political activist Beppe Grillo
Beppe Grillo
Giuseppe Piero Grillo, better known as Beppe Grillo , is an Italian activist, blogger, comedian, actor and politician, who also works in theatres and television.-Biography:Grillo was born in Genoa, Liguria....
.
Mastella's wife, Sandra Lonardo, is also a UDEUR politician, and she acts as president of the Regional Council of Campania. She has been under house arrest for suspected bribery since January 16, 2008. Meanwhile, Clemente Mastella resigned from his position as Justice Minister; in announcing his resignation, he said that "between the love of my family and power I choose the former" and expressed his desire to be "more free from a political and personal point of view". Prodi rejected the resignation, but on January 17 Mastella said again that he was resigning. Prodi was to temporarily take over his portfolio.
2008 Italian political crisis
Despite having earlier said that he would support Prodi's government without participating in it, on January 21 Mastella said that his party was ending its support, thereby depriving the government of its narrow majority in the Senate. Mastella said that UDEUR wanted an early election and that it would vote against the government if there was a vote of confidence.Mastella's decision occurred a few days after a decision by the Constitutional Court
Constitutional Court of Italy
The Constitutional Court of Italy is a supreme court of Italy, the other being the Court of Cassation. Sometimes the name Consulta is used as a metonym for it, because its sessions are held in Palazzo della Consulta in Rome....
which confirmed that there would be a referendum
Referendum in Italy
The Constitution of Italy provides for only two kinds of legally binding referendums:*a popular referendum, which can only be called in order to decide on whether to abrogate The Constitution of Italy provides for only two kinds of legally binding referendums:*a popular referendum, which can only...
to modify the electoral system. As stated many times by Mastella, if the referendum was confirmed this would lead directly to the fall of the government and in fact this is what happened.
The fall of the government disrupted a pending election-law referendum that, if it had been passed, would have made it harder for small parties like Mastella's to gain seats in parliament.
On February 6, 2008, Mastella announced that he would be part of Silvio Berlusconi's Casa delle Libertà. but on March 1, Berlusconi refused to form a coalition with Mastella, citing too many differences in their political programmes.
After failing to secure a coalition with any other political party, Mastella decided to quit the electoral competition on March 7, as the Italian electoral system subjects political parties not a part of a coalition to thresholds of 4% and 8% for the Chamber and the Senate, respectively.