Home About Chat Users Issues Party Candidates Polling Firms Media News Polls Calendar Key Races United States President Senate House Governors International

New User Account
"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource." 
Email: Password:

  'It’s like coming back to life': Italian MP reveals her face to public for first time
NEWS DETAILS
Parent(s) Candidate 
ContributorIndyGeorgia 
Last EditedIndyGeorgia  Jun 13, 2018 07:23pm
Logged 0
CategoryGeneral
AuthorLorenzo Tondo
News DateWednesday, June 13, 2018 08:50:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionItaly’s “ghost” politician – who was forced to run for office anonymously due to threats from the mafia – has finally revealed her face to the public after winning her parliamentary seat.

“After all these years spent behind the scenes, today I can finally look at the world in the face without fear of showing mine,” Piera Aiello, 51, told the Guardian, while posing for pictures for the first time since 1993.

“It’s like coming back to life,” she said, smiling at the camera lens. “At this precise moment, I feel completely free.”

Aiello’s life has been in danger since she witnessed two mafia hitmen kill her husband in 1991, forcing her to enter witness protection two years later.

In March, she stood as an anti-mafia candidate for the populist Five Star Movement (M5S) in Sicily, and won her seat despite having to campaign anonymously, and under security escort.

As an anti-mafia witness, Aiello could not show her face in public, could not be photographed, or freely hold campaign events in city squares. She often wore a veil to cover her face, and became known as the "faceless candidate".
Share
ArticleRead Full Article

NEWS
Date Category Headline Article Contributor
Jul 23, 2018 02:00am Profile ‘I was tired of covering my face to hide from the mafia’: Italian MP Piera Aiello  Article IndyGeorgia 

DISCUSSION