Massimo Bitonci (born 24 June 1965, in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

) is an Italian Venetist politician. He is a member of

Liga Veneta Liga Veneta ( vec, Łiga Vèneta; en, Venetian League; abbr. LV), whose complete name is ( en, Venetian League for Salvini Premier), is a regionalist political party active in Veneto. The LV, whose ideology combines Venetian nationalism and ...

– Lega Nord, which he has served as national president since 2016. In 1993, he joined Lega Nord and was deputy mayor of

Cittadella Cittadella ( vec, Sitadeła) is a medieval walled city in the province of Padua, northern Italy, founded in the 13th century as a military outpost of Padua. The surrounding wall has been restored and is in circumference with a diameter of around ...

from 1994 to 2002. During his second term he followed mayor Lucio Facco into Liga Veneta Repubblica (LVR). With the support of LVR he ran for mayor in 2002 and was elected with 50.9% of the vote in a run-off, defeating Liga Veneta in one of its traditional strongholds. In 2007 he was re-elected mayor with the 56.5% of the vote in the first round. In that occasion he was supported by a regionalist front composed of Liga Veneta, LVR and some civic lists, which won altogether 51.7% of the vote. In the 2008 general election Bitonci was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, where he sat in the parliamentary group of Lega Nord. He trailed the electoral result of the party in the

Province of Padua The Province of Padua (''Provincia di Padova'') is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Padua. Geography It has an area of 2,142 km2, and a total population of 936,492 (2016) making it the most populated pr ...

, where Lega Nord passed from 7.7% to 24.1% in two years, and especially in Cittadella, where the party quadrupled its score from 11.6% to 42.2%. In the 2013 general election Bitonci was elected to the Senate, where he was appointed floor leader of his party. In June 2014 Bitonci was elected mayor of

(31.4% in the first round, 53.5% in the run-off). However, in November 2016, having lost the support of the majority of the municipal council, he was dismissed as mayor and the council was subsequently dissolved. In June 2017 Bitonci came first in the first round of the municipal election with 40.3%, but was finally defeated by

Sergio Giordani Sergio Giordani (born 10 May 1953) is an Italian politician and entrepreneur. He is the current mayor of Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglion ...

, a left-leaning independent, 48.2% to 51.8% in the run-off.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bitonci, Massimo 1965 births Living people Lega Nord politicians Venetist politicians Deputies of Legislature XVI of Italy Senators of Legislature XVII of Italy Deputies of Legislature XVIII of Italy Mayors of Padua