Carlo Vizzini (born 28 April 1947 in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for it ...

) is an Italian politician.

Political life

Vizzini was secretary of the

Italian Democratic Socialist Party The Italian Democratic Socialist Party (, PSDI), also known as Italian Social Democratic Party, was a minor social-democratic political party in Italy. The longest serving partner in government for Christian Democracy, the PSDI had been an imp ...

(PSDI) from 1992 to 1993, during which time he founded (along with

Bettino Craxi Benedetto "Bettino" Craxi ( , , ; 24 February 1934 – 19 January 2000) was an Italian politician, leader of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) from 1976 to 1993, and the 45th prime minister of Italy from 1983 to 1987. He was the first PSI membe ...

of the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892 ...

and

Achille Occhetto Achille Leone Occhetto (; born 3 March 1936) is an Italian political figure. He served as the last secretary-general of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) between 1988 and 1991, and the first leader of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS), the p ...

of the

Democratic Party of the Left The Democratic Party of the Left ( it, Partito Democratico della Sinistra, PDS) was a democratic socialist and social-democratic political party in Italy. Founded in February 1991 as the post-communist evolution of the Italian Communist Party ...

) the Italian branch of the

Party of European Socialists The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a Social democracy, social democratic and Progressivism, progressive European political party. The PES comprises national-level political parties from all member states of the European Union (EU) plus ...

(PES). As a leading PSDI representative he was a minister in several successive governments, including time spent as the

Minister for Cultural Assets and Activities The Ministry of Culture ( it, Ministero della Cultura - MiC) is the ministry of the Government of Italy in charge of national museums and the ''monuments historiques''. MiC's headquarters are located in the historic Collegio Romano Palace (via ...

(1987–88), as Minister for the Merchant Navy (1989–91), and as Minister of Post and Telecommunications (1991–92). Later, he became a member of the

Italian Senate The Senate of the Republic ( it, Senato della Repubblica), or simply the Senate ( it, Senato), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Chamber of Deputies). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral sy ...

from

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

for

Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...

(FI) and latterly

The People of Freedom The People of Freedom ( it, Il Popolo della Libertà, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL, launched by Silvio Berlusconi on 18 November 2007, was initially a federation of political parties, notably including Forza Italia ...

(PdL). Vizzini was a leading member of one of Forza Italia's

social-democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...

factions Faction or factionalism may refer to: Politics * Political faction, a group of people with a common political purpose * Free and Independent Faction, a Romanian political party * Faction (''Planescape''), a political faction in the game ''Plan ...

, a group known as the

Clubs of Reformist Initiative The Clubs of Reformist Initiative (''Circoli di Iniziativa Riformista'') was a social-democratic faction within Forza Italia, a political party in Italy. Its members were mainly former members of the Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI), a ce ...

. The faction was succeeded by the social-democratic

European Reformists European Reformists (''Riformisti Europei'', RE) was a social-democratic think tank, which functioned as a faction within The People of Freedom, a political party in Italy. RE aimed at "promoting the culture of liberal and socialist reformism in ...

when Forza Italia merged into the PdL. Vizzini was a member of the Italian

Antimafia Commission The Italian parliamentary Antimafia Commission ( it, Commissione parlamentare antimafia) is a bicameral commission of the Italian Parliament, composed of members from the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The first commission, formed in 1963, was ...

from 2001–2009. In 2008 he became vice president of the Commission, but relinquished his position in June 2009 after being accused of having been bribed by

Massimo Ciancimino Massimo, also Massimino, and Massimine () is a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name: *Massimo Agostinelli (Max Agos) (born 1987), Swiss based Italian American artist, entrepreneur and activist * Massimo Ag ...

, the son of

Vito Ciancimino Vito Alfio Ciancimino (; 2 April 1924 – 19 November 2002) was an Italian politician close to the Mafia leadership who became known for enriching himself and his associates by corruptly granting planning permission. An abrasive personality, h ...

, a former mayor of Palermo who was convicted of being a member of the Mafia. He was then charged with aiding and abetting the Cosa Nostra. Vizzini declared publicly and in judicial proceedings that he did not know Massimo Ciancimino, and on 7 January 2013 the Prosecutor of Palermo formally requested the closing of the investigation opened against him.Indagini sul tesoro di Ciancimino, Vizzini si dimette dall'Antimafia
La Repubblica, June 11, 2009 In November 2011 Vizzini left the PdL and joined the

(PSI). He later returned to the reconstituted PSDI, becoming secretary of the party in May 2022.

Problems with Italian Justice

Vizzini, together with

and other politicians, was involved in the corruption scandal of

Tangentopoli ''Mani pulite'' (; Italian for "clean hands") was a nationwide judicial investigation into political corruption in Italy held in the early 1990s, resulting in the demise of the so-called " First Republic" and the disappearance of many Italian ...

. Vizzini was found guilty but benefited from the

Statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In m ...

and did not serve his sentence. Davide Faraone, member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

of the city council of Palermo reported the bad management of public money of the municipal company for energy AMG. Among his critics figured also a consultancy contract paid to Maria Sole Vizzini, Carlo's daughter.

References

External links

Carlo Vizzini page at the Italian Senate site
1947 births Living people Forza Italia politicians Politicians from Palermo Italian Democratic Socialist Party politicians 20th-century Italian politicians Culture ministers of Italy {{Italy-politician-ThePeopleofFreedom-stub