Gianna Calderara
Gianna Calderara | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President of Gylias | |
| In office 1 February 1991 – 1 February 2007 | |
| Prime Minister | Mathilde Vieira |
| Preceded by | Sáe Nyran |
| Succeeded by | Laura Varnaþ |
| First Lady of Gylias (unofficial) | |
| In office 2 January 1958 – 5 March 1976 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 May 1921 Cesena, Cacertian Empire |
| Died | 9 September 2021 (aged 100) Mişeyáke, Mişeyáke, Gylias |
| Nationality | Cacertian Gylian |
| Political party | Democratic Communist Party |
| Spouse | Darnan Cyras (died 1989) |
Gianna Calderara (Gylic transcription: Ďana Kalderara; 23 May 1921 – 9 September 2021) was a Cacertian–Gylian socialite, actress, author, and politician. She served as the unofficial first lady of Gylias during the Golden Revolution, as the wife of Prime Minister Darnan Cyras, and as President of Gylias from 1991 to 2007.
Born into a well-off and artistically-inclined family from Cesena, Gianna met Darnan Cyras in her adolescence. They became friends during the Liberation War, and their friendship later became romantic. Gianna made frequent trips to the Free Territories and advocated their cause in Cacerta. During one of these trips, she married Darnan.
During the Golden Revolution, Gianna played an unofficial role as first lady, as Gylias had no official title or position for an officeholder's spouse. She was a prominent activist and a charismatic figure of the Golden Revolution, easily overshadowing her husband, and is sometimes considered part of the ferroses group.
A firm opponent of Aén Ďanez, she underwent a political evolution during the wretched decade. She believed that the left had to moderate in order to regain the public's trust. She was the PA candidate for the 1986 presidential election, which she lost by only 1.615 votes — the narrowest margin ever recorded in a Gylian presidential election.
She won the presidential election of 1991, and went on to be re-elected in 1995, 1999, and 2003, making her the longest-serving President since Reda Kazan. She exercised the office vigorously, was known for her extensive domestic and foreign visits, and forged a close cooperation with the Mathilde Vieira government, making her one of the most powerful presidents since Reda.
In office, Gianna's political evolution continued until she was a full-blown conservative socialist. She joked that she sought to discover "how conservative one can become while remaining a socialist", and her conservatism was confined to matters of appearance and public behaviour, similar to Reda's promotion of sautonism.
She remained politically active in retirement, jokingly describing her main hobby as "spanking the left into good behaviour", and lived to be a centenarian, dying of natural causes in 2021.
Early life
Gianna was born on 21 May 1921 in Cesena. Her father was a talent agent and her mother was a dance teacher. This exposed her to an artistic milieu from early childhood. She had two younger siblings: Giovanna, a novelist, and Guglielmo, a property agent.
She attended a local single-sex school in Cesena. Her parents gave her a choice whether to attend finishing school or drama school; she chose the latter. She trained as an actress from the age of 16.
Signing with a Cacertian film studio, Gianna appeared in many Cacertian films from 1939 to 1949. Despite steady work, she felt frustrated that she never got her big break, and never got top billing in a film.
Courtship and marriage
While in school, Gianna met Darnan Cyras, who led a bohemian lifestyle in Cesena's artistic circles. He was on good terms with her parents, and often interacted with the Calderara children while visiting. Gianna recalled that he was "an interesting older man", and the two found they shared common interests.
Darnan chose to return to Xevden and join the Gylian opposition during the 1400 Days' Reform. The two remained pen pals, writing to each other regularly.
As the Liberation War began, Gianna and Darnan's friendship deepened. Gianna began to visit Darnan in the Free Territories, using the inherited airship infrastructure of Alscia. As Gianna grew older, their friendship turned romantic.
She described the beginning of the Liberation War's second phase as the "scariest moment" in their relationship. After the People's Army won the Battles of Nerazur and Mytin, she spent more time with Darnan in the Free Territories. Driven by their fear of losing each other, the two married.
Gianna frequently returned to Cacerta to advocate for the Free Territories' cause. She organised donation drives and benefit performances to support the Free Territories, and helped recruit volunteers for the International Brigades.
During the 1950s, Gianna gradually spent more time with Darnan in the Free Territories, until she had relocated there with Giovanna. Darnan appreciated her company due to her artistic inclinations. She and her sister ended up part of the ferroses group that formed around Darnan.
Unofficial first lady
Darnan became Gylias' Chair of the Executive Committee after the war, then Prime Minister once the 1961 Constitution was adopted. There was no official role for the Prime Minister's spouse. Nevertheless, Gianna carved out a role for herself as unofficial first lady.
Gianna became a high-profile activist during the Golden Revolution, together with her sister Gianna. She hired a press secretary and courted the media. Her gregarious charisma easily overshadowed her husband. She championed the liberalisation of Gylian norms around gender and sexuality, and promoted the arts. She embraced the Groovy Gylias phenomenon with enthusiasm, and met frequently with artists and cultural figures.
She enjoyed a great reputation in the media, which portrayed her as an ideal woman for the First Republic. As a Cacertian, her taste for the pomp and circumstance of office clashed with her husband's revolutionary asceticism. She had to host social events in various locations because the Prime Minister had no official residence.
Gianna handled much of the pageantry of office that Darnan shunned. She made visits throughout Gylias, often working together with President Reda Kazan. She also made official visits abroad on her own, sometimes with foreign minister Erika Ďileş. Her artistic background and foreign language skills mader her highly regarded among foreign dignitaries. Much to her amusement, the foreign press often treated Darnan as simply "Gianna's husband".
Wretched decade
Gianna and Darnan were both shocked and dismayed by the 1976 federal election result. Gianna recalled that when she heard the Progressive Alliance had chosen to enter the Aén Ďanez government to "restrain" the Revolutionary Rally, she felt like "the entire world had gone mad".
However, while Darnan chose a quiet retirement, Gianna became more active and high-profile in the wretched decade. She criticised Aén harshly, met with activists and opposition leaders, and sought to oppose the government at every turn.
The experience kickstarted a political evolution. As unofficial first lady, Gianna had been an "implied leftist": she rarely spoke about politics but showed clear sympathy towards aristerokratia, and led a champagne socialist lifestyle. The PA's seeming impotence at toppling the RR or ending the wretched decade alarmed her. She aligned herself with the "oppositionist" faction that emerged in the PA. She felt the coalition with the RR ruined the PA's reputation.
However, she went beyond most "oppositionists". She grew convinced the left needed to moderate to regain the public's trust. As she explained, "If Gylians wanted to go further left to end the misery, the PP-CM would win a landslide." When this didn't happen in 1980, it deepened her conviction.
During the 1980s, she agitated within the PA to form a grand coalition with Lea Kersed's National Bloc. She was disgusted when the internal vote narrowly went against it in 1980. She made a harsh speech at the conference accusing members of "putting moronic puritism over saving the country".
Gianna befriended Lea and the two spent much time together in the 1980s. Lea herself sought to reassure leftist voters and went out of her way to befriend politicians she disagreed with. Gianna developed a sympathy for Lea's conservatism, and was amused by Lea's nostalgia for older styles of appearance. This marked the start of her journey into conservative socialism.
Dismayed with the PA's struggles and lack of leadership, Gianna voted for the NB in 1985. She commented in her diary that she felt "Lea is the only serious politician who understands the danger and can meet it."
Gianna chose to run for the presidency in 1986. She became the PA's candidate almost by default, a revered Golden Revolution figure whose stature no one could match. Gianna's campaign presented her as a strong woman who could break the parliamentary deadlock and remove Aén from office. She coordinated closely with the liberal candidate Clarissa Rossetti, symbolising a desire to rebuild the left–liberal alliance. She finished second, with 16,3% of first preference votes, and reached the final count. There, she lost to NB candidate Sáe Nyran by only 1.615 votes.
She greeted the Filomena Pinheiro government with relief, and was happy that Lea became Deputy Prime Minister. In her last 2 years, Lea would make jokes that she would convince Gianna to join the NB by the 1990s.
Presidency
Election
After the narrow loss of 1986, Gianna mounted another candidacy in 1991, backed again by the PA. She won a plurality of first-preference votes, and defeated the conservative candidate Şea Eneþi in final preferences by 56% to 44%.
She went on to win re-election in 1995, 1999, and 2003.
Exercise of office
Gianna was an energetic and high-profile president. She exercised her right to address a message to Gylians as much as Reda Kazan. She chose to promote volunteerism as president. She established a close relationship with the Mathilde Vieira government.
She was known for her extensive domestic and foreign visits, and strongly favoured using the presidency's ceremonial duties to enhance Gylian foreign relations. She made official visits to Akashi and Delkora to support fellow Common Sphere members who had been affected by the neoliberal conspiracy.
She led the commemorations on the 40th anniversary of the Liberation War ending in 1998. She delivered a widely-acclaimed speech emphasising the great suffering of Gylians during the Liberation War and the importance of preserving the Free Territories' ideals and legacy.
Her 31 December 1999 address to Gylians on the eve of a new millennium was also widely commended.
The presidency and its ceremonial duties illustrated Gianna's political evolution. It was during this time that she quipped she sought to discover "how conservative one can become while remaining a socialist". As with Reda, it mostly manifested itself in presentation and fastidious dressing. In her final re-election, she attracted conservative voters away from the NB's candidate.
Senate nominations
She expressed support for political reforms within the bounds of her office, and welcomed the transformation of the Senate into a sortition-based body. She was the first president to nominate eminent Gylians for a Senate term.
She repeatedly nominated Margot Fontaine to non-consecutive terms, and Ludmila Canaşvili to two non-consecutive terms. Ludmila's last term, from 1 March to 1 June 2002, served as a substitute for Margot, who had died before she was due to start a new Senate term.
Later life
Gianna chose to lead an active retirement after her term as President. She hosted salons, involved herself in charity work, and wrote columns and appeared in panel shows. She spoke out more frequently about politics, which she couldn't do as president. She consciously embraced an element of self-parody in her public image, playing up her flirtation with conservatism and whether she would "abandon" leftism, but never did so.
She had a good opinion of Marie-Agnès Delaunay, praising her drive and dominance of the political scene. She was impressed by the Latte Revolution, and joked that Marie-Agnès had taken Gylias from Darnan and reshaped it in her likeness. In response to the PA's struggles, she advised them to "get back in touch with the public and meet them where they are."
Death
Gianna lived to be a centenarian. Her 100th birthday on 23 May 2021 was celebrated across Gylias, with tributes from all walks of life. She had lived long enough to witness Gylias' first conservative Prime Minister, Maria Lucía De Angelis y Cortés. At her inauguration, she had quipped to her, "You better make Lea proud!"
Gianna died in her sleep on 9 September 2021, of natural causes. She was granted a state funeral by President Ravy Egiði. Maria Lucía eulogised her as "one of the giants of our First Republic".
Private life
Gianna was pansexual. She and Darnan had an open marriage. She had several affairs, and he had a long-term mistress: his secretary Georgia Hamilton. The two told each other of their experiences, and Gianna enjoyed humorously grading her other lovers. She was good friends with Georgia and showed a very raunchy sense of humour with her, joking about her talents at oral sex. She jokingly encouraged Georgia to praise Darnan when they had sex, due to his embarrassed reaction.
Gianna and Darnan enjoyed a devoted marriage until Darnan's death, with no children. Darnan was quite self-conscious of the age gap between them. Gianna was his intellectual and politicial equal. Her extroverted personality and musical talents compensated for Darnan's laconic personality. Due to the age gap, Darnan feared he wouldn't be able to satisfy Gianna sexually, and encouraged her affairs. Gianna made it clear to her lovers that their encounters were purely physical and nothing else. She remarked: "I have a husband. Everyone else is a one-night fling."
Gianna's hobbies included piano playing, reading, and writing. She kept a diary for most of her life. She practiced Sofianism as a religion. She spoke Italian, English, and French, but no Gylic languages.
Gianna's sister, Giovanna, became part of the ferroses and a successful romance novelist and actress.