Hallisey says: “We want to put Valentina Nappi forward as a candidate for the Radicals”

“Nominate Valentina Nappi? We’re considering it; it’s a possibility, a suggestion. We’ve already discussed it with her.” The idea put forward by Più Europa’s president, Matteo Hallissey, to Il Foglio is radical in every respect: an internationally renowned porn star in the institutions. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time. In 1987, Ilona Staller (better known as Cicciolina) entered Parliament with the Radical Party, having received 20,000 preferential votes. She was second on the Radicals’ list, behind only the party leader Marco Pannella. Years later, Moana Pozzi, another hugely famous porn star of the last century, also gave it a go, but her bid for mayor of Rome did not meet with the hoped-for success. This time, Hallissey believes, things would be different.

“It’s not a provocation like Pannella’s. The election campaign would be different from Cicciolina’s.” All kisses and bare breasts. So much so that Giulio Andreotti was forced to ask her to appear in ‘modest’ clothing, out of respect for the voters, “even those who vote for Benedetto Croce”. “Valentina is capable of engaging in discussions and providing in-depth analysis on many issues, even outside her own field; she has a 360-degree analytical grasp of today’s society,” says Hallissey. “As well as the issue of the ‘ethics tax’, on which she was one of the leading figures alongside OnlyFans star Luiza Munteanu, Valentina is someone who shares many of our initiatives and values. It would be interesting, in a potential campaign, to tackle all those issues that people wouldn’t expect Nappi to address, and which she would in fact be perfectly capable of discussing with far greater insight than many Italian politicians,” speculates the young president. However, as a 23-year-old, she will not yet be of the minimum age required to stand for Parliament next year. The porn star Nappi, now 35, would meet that requirement. “It’s something we’re thinking of doing in the future, perhaps in the next European elections. But even if Valentina were to confirm her willingness to stand, it would be a matter for discussion with the whole party.” Have you discussed this with the secretary, Riccardo Magi? “For now, there’s another problem within Più Europa. The party is unable to submit its accounts on time because Magi does not want to convene the party assembly and put the political line up for debate,” explains Hallissey, who occupied the party headquarters at the end of May to demand an early party conference. “If the accounts are not approved by 31 October, Più Europa risks being struck off the register of Italian political parties.”

Despite internal disagreements, the party is continuing its fight against the suspension of the ‘ethics tax’. Accompanied, of course, by Nappi. Yesterday they organised a sit-in outside the Chamber of Deputies to celebrate having collected over 50,000 signatures to table the bill to abolish the ‘ethics tax’. This levy, as the porn actress pointed out yesterday, “punishes anyone who portrays sexuality in any way in art, from literature to the films I make, to mainstream films, if there’s a sex scene”, and which – as she said back in January when presenting the initiative in the Senate – could lead to a “shortage of pussy”. Following yesterday’s sit-in, Hallissey goes on to say, “we took her on a tour of the Chamber of Deputies. We even looked out over the Chamber floor, so she can start getting a feel for the place.”