'''Edmondo Privitera''' (b. 28 May, 1944) is the current [[President of Imagua and the Assimas]], having been [[Elections in Imagua and the Assimas#2016|elected]] in March 2016, and former [[Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Prime Minister]], serving from 1984 to 1992, and from 2012 until 2016, making him the most recent person to serve two consecutive terms as Prime Minister of [[Imagua and the Assimas]], and the first person to serve non-consecutive terms as Prime Minister.
'''Edmondo Privitera''' (b. 28 May, 1944) is the current [[President of Imagua and the Assimas]], having been [[Elections in Imagua and the Assimas#2016|elected]] to the Imaguan presidency in March 2016, and previously served as the former [[Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Prime Minister]], serving from 1984 to 1992.
First entering politics in 1968 as a county councillor for the [[Assimas County]] assembly, Privitera would enter [[Parliament of Imagua and the Assimas|Parliament]] in 1972 at the age of 28, making him one of the youngest legislators at the time. He would rise through the ranks, becoming [[Ministry of Justice (Imagua)|Justice Minister]] and [[Ministry of Defence (Imagua)|Defence Minister]] in 1976 under [[Pietro Muro]]'s government. Following the death of [[Anthony Brockett]] in 1981, Privitera became [[Deputy Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Deputy Prime Minister]], serving until [[Marguerite Ernman]], the erstwhile Prime Minister ran for the Imaguan presidency in 1984.
As Prime Minister, Edmondo Privitera continued his predecessor's neoliberal reforms, and oversaw the legalisation of abortion in Imagua in 1988, Imagua joining the [[Arucian Cooperation Organization]] that same year, and decriminalising {{wp|homosexuality}} in 1991. However, his premiership was marred by scandals involving his association with [[Baigent Powell]] and [[Pietro Muro]], and following a failed attempt to run for the presidential nomination in 1992, Privitera resigned from the Chamber of Commons in 1993.
From 1994 until 2011, Edmondo Privitera would work for the Committee for Foreign and Community Relations in the [[Arucian Cooperation Organization]]. After his retirement from the ACO, Privitera returned to politics in the mid-2010s, culminating in his successful bid for President against [[Saverio Merante]] in the [[Elections in Imagua and the Assimas#2016|2016 general election]], and his subsequent inauguration on 23 April, 2016.
==Early life==
==Early life==
[[File:ItalianBuildingProfiatasIliasRhodes.jpg|150px|thumb|left|Childhood home of Edmondo Privitera, 2009]]
Edmondo Privitera was born on 28 May, 1944 in the town of [[Piavenna, Imagua and the Assimas|Piavenna]], as the third and youngest child, and second son, of shopkeeper and reservist [[Gioele Privitera]] and housewife [[Flaviana Privitera]]. When he was nearly two and a half years of age, the [[Assimas Islands]] were ceded from [[Etruria]] to [[Estmere]], who attached the islands to [[Imagua]], thereby establishing the present-day nation of [[Imagua and the Assimas]].
Edmondo Privitera was born on 28 May, 1944 in the town of [[Piavenna, Imagua and the Assimas|Piavenna]], as the third and youngest child, and second son, of shopkeeper and reservist [[Gioele Privitera]] and housewife [[Flaviana Privitera]]. When he was nearly two and a half years of age, the [[Assimas Islands]] were ceded from [[Etruria]] to [[Estmere]], who attached the islands to [[Imagua]], thereby establishing the present-day nation of [[Imagua and the Assimas]].
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==Early political career==
==Early political career==
===Early years===
===County councillor and early Parliamentary career===
In 1968, Edmondo Privitera stood for election for the [[Assimas Parish#Government|parochial council]] to represent his hometown of [[Piavenna, Imagua and the Assimas|Piavenna]]. As all parochial candidates have to be {{wp|independent politician|independents}}, as per rules set at the national level, Privitera campaigned as an independent against incumbent representative [[Volfango Pisapia]], who served from 1952.
In 1968, Edmondo Privitera was elected to the [[Assimas County#Government|county council]] to represent his hometown of [[Piavenna, Imagua and the Assimas|Piavenna]] for the [[Democratic Labour Party (Imagua)|Democratic Labour Party]]. However, in his term as county councillor, Privitera realised that county governments lacked any substantial power early on, and began making plans to run for a seat in the [[Chamber of Commons of Imagua and the Assimas|Chamber of Commons]] in 1972. While the ''[[Assimas Autonomy Act of 1969]]'' gave the Assimas more autonomy over education, welfare, and social development, Privitera concluded that the only way to make things better for the community was by entering the Chamber of Commons.
Privitera's campaign was based on "changing things for the better," and arguing that Pisapia had ran out of ideas. Combined with his oratorial skill, he managed to win with 46.5% of the vote, with Pisapia losing by 43.3%, and other candidates taking the remaining share.
Following [[Verulo Campana]]'s decision to retire in 1972, Privitera ran for the DLP in 1972 against [[Sotirian Democratic Party (Imagua)|Sotirian Democratic]] candidate [[Ottavio Trevisan]], a factory owner in [[Rutigliano]]. However, Privitera's political experience and charisma helped the DLP keep the seat, winning with 60% of the vote.
Thus, when he was sworn in on 23 April, 1968 on the parochial council, he soon discovered that the parochial government was "powerless," to such a point that Privitera believed that he had to run for the [[Lesser House of Imagua and the Assimas|Lesser House]] in the next national election.
After being sworn in on 23 April, 1972, Privitera began building up his base of support, aligning himself with [[Ministry of Labour (Imagua)|Labour Minister]] [[Pietro Muro]]. In 1976, after Privitera was re-elected, Privitera was appointed to Muro's cabinet as [[Ministry of Justice (Imagua)|Justice Minister]] and as [[Ministry of Defence (Imagua)|Defence Minister]]. While Muro appointed [[Marguerite Ernman]] as his [[Deputy Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Deputy]], Privitera's stature meant that he was seen as a future DLP leader, with Privitera being supported by [[Eric Fleming]].
Thus, it came as a shock to Privitera in 1969 when the ''[[Assimas Autonomy Act of 1969]]'' was passed, giving the Assimas Parish autonomy over education, welfare, and social development in the parish. While the parochial council was still to remain non-partisan, the parochial council now had more power than "ever before."
Privitera would keep his seat in 1980 despite facing a three-way race with [[Rosalia Annunziata]] and [[Aristarco Lenzini]]. He was subsequently reappointed to his portfolios.
Despite this, he remained a backbencher: while he generally leaned more to the social left, he was a key swing voter over the next few years.
By 1972, however, Privitera decided to not run for a second term in the parochial council, and announced his intention to join the [[Democratic Labour Party of Imagua|Democratic Labour Party]].
Following the death of [[Anthony Brockett]] in 1981, Pietro Muro became [[President of Imagua and the Assimas|President]], while Marguerite Ernman became Acting Prime Minister. One of the first things she did was appoint an acting cabinet, with Edmondo Privitera becoming Deputy Prime Minister. While this role meant that he vacated his existing portfolios, it solidified Privitera's position within the Democratic Labour Party. He would remain in that role after the [[Elections in Imagua and the Assimas#1981|1981 parliamentary election]].
At that point, incumbent [[Democratic Labour Party of Imagua|Democratic Labour]] member of Parliament, [[Verulo Campana]] announced his intention to retire. This left the Democratic Labour Party scrambling to find a replacement, but ultimately settled on Edmondo Privitera, as he had the most "political experience" of the potential candidates.
Thus, in the 1972 elections, he ran against [[National Party of Imagua|Conservative]] candidate [[Ottavio Trevisan]]. Trevisan was a factory owner who had operated a shoe factory in [[Rutigliano]] since 1949, and was believed to have the potential to take the seat away from the DLP. In addition, Trevisan had strong support from the Conservative leadership, especially by [[Querano Piro]].
Edmondo Privitera knew that he had to try and campaign on his record as member of the [[Assimas Parish#Government|parochial council]] if he wanted to enter the [[Lesser House of Imagua and the Assimas|Lesser House]] of [[Parliament of Imagua and the Assimas|Parliament]], in addition to using his charisma to help him win support from his constituency of Rutigliano-Piavenna.
Thus, Privitera's campaign was largely based on his political experience: during one debate in that election with Trevisan, Privitera remarked that "Conservatives always talk about things getting better. The DLP will do whatever we can to ''make'' them better."
That line helped garner him a lot of support among the population, and on election day, he was elected with 60% of the vote to Trevisan's 40% of the vote, allowing the DLP to keep their seat, although the Conservatives managed to form government under Piro. Thus, he was sworn in as Member of Parliament on the 23rd of April, 1972.
Edmondo Privitera during this time started to build up his base of support among members of the Democratic Labour Party, with Privitera lending his support to the left-wing of the DLP. While he was never appointed in the {{wp|shadow cabinet}} during his first term, by the next general election in 1976, he had become one of the major members of the DLP, especially with former [[Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Prime Minister]] [[Eric Fleming]] supporting Privitera.
During Privitera's tenure as Deputy Prime Minister, Edmondo Privitera stood in for Marguerite Ernman whenever she travelled abroad. Furthermore, she often delegated her menial tasks to Privitera, giving Privitera responsibilities that outweighed the position's ceremonial role. At the same time, Privitera began preparing for a future Prime Ministerial run, with Privitera planning to run in 1988, as he expected Pietro Muro to continue to serve as President until then. Thus, he spent much of his deputy premiership building up support from within the Democratic Labour Party.
In the 1976 election, he ran against [[Ernesto Savini]] of the Conservatives. While Savini initially had greater support than Privitera, Savini's lack of charisma hampered his campaign efforts, which allowed Privitera to win a second term.
However, in 1983, Pietro Muro announced his retirement from Imaguan politics. With Marguerite Ernman expressing an interest at running for the Imaguan presidency, this "fast-tracked" Privitera's plans to run for the Imaguan premiership. At the 1983 leadership convention, with support from Pietro Muro, Edmondo Privitera secured the DLP nomination for the Imaguan Presidency.
===Deputy Opposition Leader===
When [[Elections in Imagua and the Assimas#1984|elections]] were called, Edmondo Privitera ran against [[National Labour Party (Imagua)|National Labour]] leader [[Raniero Chinnici]] and [[Sotirian Democratic Party (Imagua)|Sotirian Democrat]] [[Victor Banks]] on the national level. However, due to vote-splitting among the right, it was expected that Privitera would keep his seat and be the next Prime Minister. After election results were announced, Privitera kept his seat by a comfortable margin, while the DLP maintained its hold on the Imaguan Parliament with 43 seats, with the 1984 election being the last time the DLP ever won with a majority of the vote.
Following his victory in 1976, Privitera's popularity garnered a lot of attention from the party leadership of the [[Democratic Labour Party of Imagua|Democratic Labour Party]]. Thus, after the leadership review which saw [[Travis Marshall]] lose his position as leader, a leadership race was announced for February 1977.
As per tradition, all the candidates were Estmerophones, as the incumbent [[Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Prime Minister]] was an [[Etrurian-Imaguan]], and the incumbent [[President of Imagua and the Assimas|President]] was an [[Estmerish-Imaguan]]. Thus, Edmondo Privitera did not run for the leadership of the Democratic Labour Party, but endorsed the leftist candidate [[Fletcher Harrison]].
==Premiership==
By the time of the leadership convention, the three main candidates were Fletcher Harrisson on the left, former Prime Minister [[Marguerite Ernman]] on the centre, and [[Sebastian Young]] on the right. At the first round of voting, Harrisson was eliminated, leaving only Ernman and Young in the race. Concerned that Young would "turn the DLP into the tails of the [[National Party of Imagua|Conservatives]]," Privitera endorsed Marguerite Ernman as the parliamentary leader, and urged the leftists in the DLP to back Ernman.
Thus, on 14 February, 1977, with 60% of the vote, Ernman became the {{wp|parliamentary leader}} of the DLP, and thus, the leader of the Official Opposition. As a deputy opposition leader was needed, Marguerite Ernman tapped Edmondo Privitera, on account of his Etrurian heritage and his young age, meaning that there would be a successor for the DLP leadership.
With that, Edmondo Privitera became a major player in the Democratic Labour Party, as he was now the second-in-command of the DLP. During this time, Edmondo Privitera continued to be influential on the left-wing of the DLP, while his position in the {{wp|shadow cabinet}} helped allow him to shape policies in the DLP.
In 1979, when the Democratic Labour Party held a conference to select a presidential candidate, he was approached to be the candidate for the President of Imagua and the Assimas by the party leadership, as he was Etrurian, compared to the incumbent's status as an Estmerophone. However, Privitera refused the offer, as he felt that he was "not experienced enough" to be President. Instead, the DLP ultimately chose [[Casimiro Fioravanti]] as the Presidential candidate.
In the 1980 presidential elections, Edmondo Privitera faced [[Rosalia Annunziata]] of the Conservatives. During the campaign, Privitera campaigned on the basis of his experience, while Annunziata campaigned on fears that he would "harm the economy of [[Imagua and the Assima|the fatherland]]." Thus, after the campaign, he won with just 55.3% of the vote, with 41.1% going to Annunziata, with the remainder going to other candidates.
Despite his victory for his constituency, the [[Democratic Labour Party of Imagua|Democratic Labour Party]] still failed to take control of the [[President of Imagua and the Assimas|Presidency]] or the [[Lesser House of Imagua and the Assimas|Lesser House]], with [[Anthony Brockett]] of the [[National Party of Imagua|Conservative Party]] becoming [[Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Prime Minister]]. Thus, [[Marguerite Ernman]] resigned from her position as leader of the official opposition, with a plan for a leadership conference in January 1981.
Thus, as he was an Etrurian-speaker, while the incumbent Prime Minister was an Estmerish-speaker, the tradition was upheld, meaning Edmondo Privitera can run for the leadership of the DLP. In that leadership race, his only serious opponent was [[Efrem Lacovara]], a {{wp|social democrat}} of the DLP, and former Prime Minister and President.
Over the next several weeks, Privitera gained substantial support, especially among the youth, and many who felt Lacovara was not a "viable candidate." Thus, on 26 January, 1981, Privitera became leader of the opposition with 54.2% of the vote, with Lacovara only gaining 45.8%. Thus, Edmondo Privitera became both the leader of the DLP and of the official opposition in the Lesser House of [[Parliament of Imagua and the Assimas|Parliament]].
As leader of the opposition, Edmondo Privitera named Lacovara as deputy leader, and organized his shadow cabinet. In addition, Privitera began advocating for {{wp|democratic socialist}} policies, saying in 1982 that "the economic crisis covering the world just shows how weak this economic system is to care about the workers."
During this time, he was starting to gain a lot of support over [[Anthony Brockett]], as Brockett's decision to bail out the banks and end the peg of the [[Imaguan shilling]] and the [[Estmerish shilling]], in addition to privatizing government agencies and corporations like the [[Air Imagua|Imaguan Civilian Air Service]] were very unpopular. While those policies helped reduce unemployment from 12.3% in 1981 to 9.7% in 1982, many resented these policies.
Thus, by late 1983, it seemed likely that Edmondo Privitera would become Prime Minister. At the 1983 leadership convention, Privitera was confirmed as the DLP's nominee for the Prime Minister, with the DLP membership voting to nominate Marguerite Ernman as Presidential candidate by huge margins.
When the writ was dropped in 1984, Privitera ran against Conservative candidate [[Eginardo Massaro]]. While Eginardo Massaro was personally more popular than Edmondo Privitera in his constituency of Rutigliano-Piavenna, many voters in the constituency were wary of voting for Massaro as they felt that the policies of the Conservative government had undermined the economy in their communities.
Thus, on 19 March, 1984, Privitera won the seat with 68.9% of the vote, compared to Massaro's 26.7% of the vote, with other candidates receiving 4.3% of the vote. In addition, the DLP gained 23 seats, bringing them up to 47 seats, allowing the DLP to form a majority government.
With [[Marguerite Ernman]] winning the popular vote, and the [[Democratic Labour Party of Imagua|Democratic Labour Party]] forming a majority in the [[Lesser House of Imagua and the Assimas|Lesser House]] of [[Parliament of Imagua and the Assimas|Parliament]], it certain that Ernman would become [[President of Imagua and the Assimas|President]] and Privitera would become the next [[Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Prime Minister]], succeeding [[Querano Piro]] and [[Anthony Brockett]] respectively.
On 23 April, 1984, Marguerite Ernman appointed Edmondo Privitera to be the thirteenth Prime Minister in her first act as President. The same day, Privitera unveiled his [[Cabinet of Imagua and the Assimas|Cabinet]], appointing [[Gerald Larsson]] to be his Deputy Prime Minister.
Thus, after naming their cabinet, on 23 April, 1984, Edmondo Privitera officially succeeded Anthony Brockett as Prime Minister, and was sworn in as the thirteenth Prime Minister. He immediately appointed [[Gerald Larsson]] to be the [[Deputy Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Deputy Prime Minister]].
As Prime Minister, he immediately halted the privatization of [[Air Imagua]] and began to implement policies to "strengthen labour rights" and "protect the workers" from exploitation. While the [[National Party of Imagua|Conservative]] opposition led by [[Anthony Brockett]] criticized the plans, saying that it would "extend the recession," and could cause Imagua to become "as poor as [[Vilcasuamanas]] or [[Marirana]]," these policies were implemented with support from the DLP majority in the Lesser House, and rubber-stamped by the Senate.
As Prime Minister, Edmondo Privitera continued Muro's and Ernman's {{wp|neoliberalism|neoliberal}} policies, defending them as the "only way Imagua can recover from the recession." However, he halted the privatisation of [[Air Imagua]], although did not reverse the measures, as he believed that Air Imagua "would help attract tourists to Imagua." Furthermore, although he engaged in deregulation, Privitera refused to "undermine worker's rights," saying that he would rather "remain in recession with the worker's rights intact than be prosperous with no worker's rights."
By 1985, the economy officially exited recession, and the following year, the unemployment rate fell below 1978 levels, when it reached 7.2%. This helped increase support for Privitera and the DLP, as they were perceived to have a stronger grasp on the economy. However, the Conservatives said the recovery was a fluke, and that the policies would in the long run "harm the nation's standard of living," in addition to leaving "huge debt that our great-grandchildren will still be paying for them."
By 1985, the Imaguan economy fully recovered from the recession. Despite the economic recovery, Privitera did not recreate the welfare state that had existed under [[Eric Fleming]] and [[Efrem Lacovara]], blaming its inefficiencies for the recession in Imagua. While Privitera and the DLP saw an increase of popularity, Privitera's decision in 1986 to appoint [[Arturo Davino]], a convicted drug trafficker and an associate of [[Baigent Powell]] to the [[Legislative Council of Imagua and the Assimas|Legislative Council]] damaged his image among the public. Pietro Muro's finances also damaged Privitera, in part due to Privitera's association with Pietro Muro.
However, in late 1986, Edmondo Privitera's government was shaken by a scandal when they appointed ex-convict drug trafficker [[Arturo Davino]] to the [[Senate of Imagua and the Assimas|Senate]]. Privitera defended the appointment of Davino, saying that "[Davino] helped draw attention to the continued disparity between the [[Bahio-Imaguan]] majority and the dominant [[Eucleo-Imaguan]] minority in the 1950s and 1960s."
Despite these scandals damaging Privitera's reputation, Edmondo Privitera was nominated in 1987 to serve as the party's prime ministerial nominee, with Marguerite Ernman nominated to serve a second term. Thus, by 1988, Privitera would face off against [[Edwin Burke]] of the SDP and [[Dale Morse]] of the National Labour Party in [[Elections in Imagua and the Assimas#1988|that year's elections]]. In his home constituency, Privitera faced [[Pompeo Pisoni]] of the National Labour Party, although despite the NLP being the only major opposition party to run against him in his own constituency, Rutigliano-Piavenna was still a safe DLP seat, freeing Privitera to focuse exclusively on national campaigning.
By 1987, Querano Piro was nominated by the Conservatives for the presidential election in 1988, with Brockett stepping aside for [[Isaac Egnell]] to run as Prime Ministerial candidate. The Democratic Labour Party once again nominated both Marguerite Ernman and Edmondo Privitera to be their candidates for the Presidency and premiership respectively.
On 25 March, 1988, Privitera won his own seat with 65.4% of the vote, with Pisoni only gaining 32.1% of the vote, and 2.1% going to other candidates. On the national level, the DLP took 38 seats in the Chamber of Commons, which was a decrease of five seats, but still enough to maintain a {{wp|majority government}}.
When the writ was dropped on 25 January, 1988, he was also facing [[Pompeo Pisoni]] of the Conservative Party. However, by that point, it was clear that Rutigliano-Piavenna was a DLP safe seat, which meant many were predicting that Privitera would easily keep his own seat. Thus, it allowed Privitera to spend much of the election campaigning on a national level, attending all the debates organized by the [[Imaguan Television Service]], and running his campaign.
On 25 March, 1988, Privitera won his own seat with 65.4% of the vote, with Pisoni only gaining 32.1% of the vote, and 2.1% going to other candidates. On the national level, the DLP took 42 seats in the Lesser House, which was a decrease of five seats, but still enough to maintain a {{wp|majority government}}.
===Second term===
===Second term===
On 23 April, 1988, [[Marguerite Ernman]] was sworn in for her second term as [[President of Imagua and the Assimas|President]], with Edmondo Privitera and his cabinet also being sworn in for their second term as government.
On 23 April, 1988, [[Marguerite Ernman]] was sworn in for her second term as [[President of Imagua and the Assimas|President]], with Edmondo Privitera and his cabinet also being sworn in for their second term as government.
In the early days of his second term, Privitera shifted his focus from the economy towards social policies, with Privitera seeking to legalize {{wp|abortion}} up until twenty weeks. This decision, while it did garner support from the Etrurians, sparked a lot of controversy among the Estmerophones, who felt that traditional values would be violated.
In the early days of his second term, Privitera officially signed the [[Treaty of TBD]] creating the [[Arucian Cooperation Organization]], although at the time, the ACO lacked a {{wp|customs union}}, {{wp|common market}}, and did not have {{wp|freedom of movement}}. As well, Privitera sought to legalise {{wp|abortion}} in Imagua, which proved to be very controversial, with the initial bill legalising abortion up to twenty weeks for any reason.
After heated debates and discussions, the bill was watered down, so to allow abortions to be received only in case of medical reasons, or if the child was conceived of rape. While this helped ensure support from the [[National Party of Imagua|Conservatives]], it was opposed by both the left-wing of the [[Democratic Labour Party of Imagua|Democratic Labour Party]] for not being {{wp|pro-choice}} enough, and from the emerging [[National Reform Party of Imagua|National Reform Party]], who viewed it as going "too far."
After heated debates and discussions, the bill was watered down, so to allow abortions to be received only in case of medical reasons, or if the child was conceived of rape. While this helped ensure support from the National Labour Party, it was opposed by both the left-wing of the Democratic Labour Party for not being {{wp|pro-choice}} enough, and from the remnants of the Sotirian Democrats, who viewed it as going "too far." After passing the [[Senate of Imagua and the Assimas|Senate]], the ''[[Abortion Act of 1988]]'' was signed on 22 September, 1988 by Ernman, and went into effect on 1 January, 1989.
After passing the [[Senate of Imagua and the Assimas|Senate]], the ''[[Abortion Act of 1988]]'' was signed on 22 September, 1988 by Ernman, and went into effect on 1 January, 1989.
Following the legalisation of abortion, Edmondo Privitera shifted his attention towards increasing environmental regulations, with Privitera's [[Ministry of the Environment (Imagua and the Assimas)|Environment Minister]] [[Isaiah Russell]] tabling a bill that would tighten environmental standards to the point where it would be some of the tightest environmental standards in the Asterias at that time. While this bill was supported among many in the DLP, Conservatives and the unions both opposed the bill for "harming Imagua's declining industries." However, he was able to pass the ''[[Imaguan Environmental Act of 1989]]'' in the summer of 1989.
Following the legalisation of abortion, Edmondo Privitera shifted his attention towards increasing environmental regulations, with Privitera's [[Ministry of the Environment (Imagua and the Assimas)|Environment Minister]] [[Isaiah Russell]] tabling a bill that would tighten environmental standards to the point where it would be some of the tightest environmental standards in the Asterias at that time. While this bill was supported among many in the DLP, Conservatives and the unions both opposed the bill for "harming Imagua's declining industries," with [[Isaac Egnell]] going so far as to say that Russell would be "the hangman of Imagua's once-mighty industrial sector."
By the early 1990s, Edmondo Privitera's government was losing popularity, due to a combination of {{wp|anti-incumbency}} for the DLP, many Imaguans opposing the legalisation of abortion, and his continued association with Pietro Muro. This was exacerbated in 1991, when his government decriminalised homosexuality, saying that "it is time to end this notion that homosexuality between consenting adults is a crime, or an illness." Although it was supported among younger generations, the National Labour Party and Sotirian Labour Party were very critical of the decriminalisation of homosexuality, with virtually all Imaguan churches coming out in opposition to the law.
Despite these tensions, the ''[[Imaguan Environmental Act of 1989]]'' was passed in the summer of 1989. Towards the end of the 1980s, Edmondo Privitera was losing popularity, with various by-elections held in 1989, 1990, and 1991 showing rising support for both the Conservatives and the National Reform Party.
At the 1991 leadership convention, Edmondo Privitera tried to run for the presidential nomination, as Ernman's two terms were up. However, due to his association with Pietro Muro's government and decreasing popularity, he was defeated by [[Isidoro Libero]], although Privitera was relieved that Gerald Larsson was the DLP nominee for the Imaguan premiership. He would campaign for Libero and Larsson in the [[Elections in Imagua and the Assimas#1992|1992 general election]].
In 1991, Privitera's government decriminalized {{wp|homosexuality|homosexual relations}}, saying that "it is time to end this notion that homosexuality between consenting adults is a crime, or an illness." While it was popular in [[Cuanstad]] and in the Assimas, it was vastly unpopular in the rest of the island of [[Imagua (island)|Imagua]], with [[Austin Houghton]] in particular claiming that its legalization would "only lead to old men marrying little girls, and old men marrying sheep."
==Post-premiership==
===Backbencher and ACO work===
[[File:Rudy_Giuliani_@_Borders_in_London_(33654219588).jpg|250px|thumb|left|Edmondo Privitera at an ACO event, 2003]]
Due to redistricting, Edmondo Privitera had to run in a new constituency for the 1992 general election. Despite his defeat at the 1991 leadership convention, Privitera was able to maintain enough of a position in the Democratic Labour Party to secure a nomination for the newly-established Rutigliano-East. He would run against NLP candidate [[Ulfo Correale]], and would win the seat with 52% of the vote.
By the 1991 leadership convention, with Marguerite Ernman having served her two terms, it was decided to select Edmondo Privitera to be the presidential candidate, while [[Gerald Larsson]] was to be selected as the Prime Ministerial candidate.
However, in January 1993, Privitera was questioned by the [[Assimas Police Force]] over his connections with a "corruption ring" that included Pietro Muro and Baigent Powell. While he was never charged with involvement in the corruption ring, many Imaguans saw Privitera as being complicit with the corruption ring, and called for Privitera to resign. Thus, in March 1993, Privitera resigned from the Chamber of Commons, to "spend more time with family."
==Campaign for the 1992 presidential election==
Following his resignation from the Chamber of Commons, Edmondo Privitera would initially be reclusive, but by 1994, he would work for the Arucian Cooperation Organization as a member of the Committee for Foreign and Community Relations. Privitera would emerge as an advocate for free movement among the organisation's members following the establishment of a {{wp|customs union}} in 1993, believing that free movement would "deepen the bonds between our Arucian family." Privitera also sought to deepen the ACO's ties with the [[Euclean Community]], particularly [[Estmere]] and [[Gaullica]], with Privitera saying in 2002 that the EC was "what the ACO should be in fifty years."
[[File:Bill_Young_and_Rudy_Giuliani.jpg|150px|thumb|left|Edmondo Privitera and [[Gerald Larsson]], 1992]]
On 17 January, 1992, Edmondo Privitera requested the dissolution of the [[Lesser House of Imagua and the Assimas|Lesser House]] of [[Parliament of Imagua and the Assimas|Parliament]]. Outgoing president [[Marguerite Ernman]] granted the request, with the general election scheduled to be on 27 March, 1992.
As expected, Edmondo Privitera campaigned for the [[President of Imagua and the Assimas|Presidency]] on behalf of the [[Democratic Labour Party of Imagua|Democratic Labour Party]], while [[Gerald Larsson]] campaigned for the [[Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Prime Ministerial]] position. Initially, their primary opponents were [[National Party of Imagua|Conservative]] presidential nominee [[Erico D'Antonio]] and Prime Ministerial nominee and former President, [[Isaac Egnell]].
During the 1990s and 2000s, Edmondo Privitera maintained contacts within the Democratic Labour Party, although due to his commitment to his job with the ACO, and concerns of his association with Pietro Muro and with the "general corruption" that had existed in the Democratic Labour Party during the 1980s, Privitera played a fairly marginal role within the DLP. He would remain involved with the CRÉC until 2011, when Edmondo Privitera announced his retirement from his role at the Arucian Cooperation Organization, citing his age.
During the first few weeks of the 1992 presidential election, Privitera was polling evenly with Erico D'Antonio. However, by mid-February, the [[National Reform Party of Imagua and the Assimas|National Reform Party]] began to poll evenly with the two major parties, much to many people's surprise. By 6 March, 1996, when [[Austin Houghton]] was invited onto the debate stage, he performed better than both Egnell and Larsson, which alarmed the DLP, especially as some polls began to predict a minority government led by Houghton.
===Return to public life===
Following Privitera's retirement from the Arucian Cooperation Organization, Edmondo Privitera would begin returning to public life. At the 2011 Democratic Labour leadership convention, Edmondo Privitera endorsed [[Immacolata Contessa]] and [[Agostina Di Bari]] in their bids for the Imaguan presidency and premiership respectively.
On 27 March, 1992, Privitera gained 35.2% of the popular vote, compared to D'Antonio's 37.2%, and [[Eva Crayford]]'s 27.6% of the vote. In the Lesser House, the Conservatives gained 25 seats, compared to the DLP's 24, and the NRP's 21. While this meant a {{wp|minority government}} led by [[Isaac Egnell]], it also meant that neither Privitera nor Larsson had the popular support to lead the DLP.
Following the 2012 general election, Edmondo Privitera began to take on a more prominent role within the party, with pundits predicting that Edmondo Privitera would run for the Imaguan presidency in 2016. During this period, Edmondo Privitera frequently criticised the [[Sotirian Labour Party (Imagua)|Sotirian Labour Party]] for its "neglect of working people while sucking the teat of the banks." Privitera also served as a DLP spokesman, promoting the DLP and its vision of a "credible and competent government."
Almost immediately, both Privitera and Larsson resigned from their positions, with speculation that Edmondo Privitera would try and call a by-election for his seat: as Rutigliano-Piavenna had been dissolved and replaced with Rutigliano West, Privitera announced his intention to run for that seat. The DLP member of Parliament, [[Gregorio Cristina]] resigned on 29 May, and a by-election was called for Rutigliano-South.
At the 2015 leadership convention, Edmondo Privitera was nominated to be the DLP presidential nominee for the [[Elections in Imagua and the Assimas#2016|2016 general election]], with Privitera endorsing [[Douglas Egnell]] to be the DLP nominee for the Imaguan premiership. The following year, he would run against [[Saverio Merante]] of the Sotirian Labour Party. His campaign focused on "real change," as the Sotirian Labour Party had been in power since the [[2000 Imaguan parliamentary election|2000 general election]], which made his campaign attractive to Imaguans. This was helped by his performance in the presidential debates against Merante. Due to his campaign, Privitera would win the presidency with 63.58% of the vote against Merante's 36.30% of the vote.
He ran against Conservative candidate [[Ulfo Correale]], who had previously ran against Gregorio Cristina in the 1992 general election. However, on 31 July, 1992, Privitera defeated Correale 70.2% to 28.5%, which was worse compared to Cristina defeating Correale 52.2% to 47.3%.
==Return to the Lesser House==
===Backbencher===
On 31 August, 1992, Edmondo Privitera was sworn back into the [[Lesser House of Imagua and the Assimas|Lesser House]] of [[Parliament of Imagua and the Assimas|Parliament]], as member for Rutigliano-South.
During his sixth term in the Lesser House, Edmondo Privitera served as a backbencher, as he was not "particularly willing" to serve in the shadow cabinet, partially due to his belief that he had cost the [[Democratic Labour Party of Imauga|Democratic Labour Party]] "an easy election," and partially to get to know his constituents in Rutigliano-South beyond the bit of [[Rutigliano]] that Rutigliano-Piavenna covered.
However, as this was a {{wp|minority government}}, Privitera was able to try and negotiate backroom deals to try and keep government going. Despite this, he criticized the 1992 budget which included the government selling its two-thirds majority share in [[Air Imagua]] to (TBD), making Air Imagua 100% privately owned. Thus, he abstained in the budget for the 1993 fiscal year, but voted in favour of the budget for the 1994 fiscal year.
However, he voted against the budget for the 1995 fiscal year, which would have cut funding to education, and healthcare, as well as reducing agricultural subsidies. As the DLP joined the [[National Reform Party of Imagua|National Reform]] in voting against the budget, it was taken as a {{wp|motion of no confidence}}, and thus forced an early election for the Lesser House.
During the 1995 elections, he appeared alongside Prime Ministerial candidate [[Ornell Elliott]], with Privitera praising Elliott as being "a calm and steady presence." At the same time, he ran a "comfortable race" against [[National Party of Imagua|Conservative]] candidate [[Erberto Pasquale]].
While this made little difference when [[Austin Houghton]] became [[Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Prime Minister]] in May 1995, Edmondo Privitera was able to defeat Pasquale 58.5% to 38.7%, and in addition started making plans for a comeback to frontbench politics.
This opportunity would come when in the 1995 leadership conference, Ornell Elliott was nominated to run for the Presidency, defeating [[Gerald Larsson]]. This meant that the DLP would need to select a new Parliamentary leader, and while Edmondo Privitera was floated as a possible suggestion, Privitera endorsed [[Viviana Andreoli]], the oldest MP in the Lesser House, and the longest serving as she served continuously since 1956, to be the parliamentary leader for the DLP. After endorsements from the party elites and the membership, Andreoli became the parliamentary leader of the DLP, but due to her age, it was decided to make Edmondo Privitera a deputy leader of the DLP.
In the 1996 presidential elections, Edmondo Privitera made frequent campaign appearances with Ornell Elliott, and advocated that "all people should vote the DLP to stop [[Rudy Wilkinson|Rudy]] from taking office." Thus, he played an instrumental role in organizing the get-out-the-vote strategy that saw Elliott become President with 68% of the vote, compared to [[Rudy Wilkinson]]'s 26% of the vote, and incumbent [[Erico D'Antonio]]'s 6% of the vote.
The following year, the DLP and the Conservatives jointly voted against the budget proposed by the National Reform Party, triggering another election. In the 1997 elections, he faced Conservative nominee [[Surano Famiglietti]], and National Reform nominee [[Miriam Fontana]]. After a vigorous campaign, he won with 62.7% of the vote, compared to Famiglietti's 34.3%, and Fontana's 0.8%, allowing him to keep his seat. As well, the DLP formed a majority government with Viviana Andreoli becoming Prime Minister.
===Deputy Prime Minister===
[[File:Giuliani_Powell.jpg|150px|thumb|right|Privitera and (TBC) at a press conference, 2001]]
On 22 May, 1997, [[Viviana Andreoli]] was sworn in as [[Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Prime Minister]], and Edmondo Privitera became [[Deputy Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Deputy Prime Minister]].
While the position of Deputy Prime Minister was a ceremonial position, as the Deputy Prime Minister is the first-in-line after the Prime Minister, it was expected that should Andreoli die in office, he would immediately succeed her to serve as acting Prime Minister until fresh elections were held. As well, the role of Deputy Prime Minister meant that in the absence of the Prime Minister, he would chair cabinet meetings, and serve as acting Prime Minister until the Prime Minister returned.
Thus, during his seventh term, Edmondo Privitera represented Viviana Andreoli at many official functions, especially when travelling outside of the Asterias. In addition, Privitera wielded a great deal of influence over the government. In addition, Edmondo Privitera helped oversee the "entrenchment" of autonomy for the [[Assimas Islands]] with the passage of the [[Constitution of Imagua and the Assimas#Seventh Amendment (August 1997)|Seventh Amendment]] to the [[Constitution of Imagua and the Assimas|Imaguan constitution]], and repealed many of the policies passed by the [[National Reform Party]] government.
In 2000, he campaigned on behalf of Ornell Elliott to help him secure a second term. Elliott managed to win, defeating [[Erico D'Antonio]] 49% to 45%, with [[Austin Houghton]] only gaining 2.6% of the vote, and other candidates taking the remaining 3.4%. However, in late 2000, the popularity of the governing [[Democratic Labour Party of Imagua|Democratic Labour Party]] fell as many felt that Viviana Andreoli was not doing enough to improve the country, and that Edmondo Privitera was not up to the task.
Despite this, at the 2000 leadership review, Viviana Andreoli retired "after the next elections," with Edmondo Privitera to run for a third term as Prime Minister to succeed Andreoli in 2001. Thus, when the writ was dropped in January 2001, the DLP was running against the [[National Party of Imagua|National Party]], a renamed version of the [[National Party of Imagua|Conservative Party]] following the defection of many members of the National Reform Party, including the party's sole remaining MP, [[Holly Bates]].
Thus, on the national level, he was competing against National leader Erico D'Antonio, and National Reform Party leader [[Miriam Fontana]]. Locally, he was competing against National candidate [[Irmina Ortolano]], and Miriam Fontana. Thus, during the course of the campaign, Privitera campaigned extensively, both in his home constituency, and on the national level.
While it was predicted that D'Antonio would be the victor, Privitera sought to try and ensure that the National victory would be "as slim as humanly possible." Thus, he criticized National policies, saying that it would "destroy all unions," and "harm our children's education, and our national healthcare."
Thus, on 23 April, 2001, the DLP gained 33 seats in the Lesser House, but the Nationals gained 37 seats, making Erico D'Antonio the new Prime Minister. In his own constituency, he won with 53.1% of the vote, defeating Ortolano, who only got 41.3% of the vote, and Fontana, who only received 5.6% of the vote.
===Return to the backbenches===
[[File:Rudy_Giuliani_stops_at_the_state_fair_(1142076209).jpg|150px|thumb|left|Privitera at a constituency event, 2005]]
Immediately following the loss, Edmondo Privitera resigned as the leader of the [[Democratic Labour Party of Imagua|Democratic Labour Party]], and called for a leadership convention in July 2001. At that leadership convention, they selected [[Pete Khanavkar]] to be the parliamentary leader, making him the first [[Marathi people|Marathi]]-descended parliamentary leader of any political party in [[Imagua and the Assimas]].
Following this, Privitera retreated to the backbenches, with Privitera playing a "far less involved role" in the affairs of the DLP during the 2000s, focusing his attention on "rebuilding his personal image" in not just his constituency of Rutigliano-South, but also inside the country. As such, he reduced his public appearances outside of constituency events.
In the 2004 elections, he ran against [[National Party of Imagua|National]] candidate [[Eugenio Matarese]], who was lacking in charisma compared to Privitera. Thus, Privitera was able to keep his seat with 61% of the vote, with the remainder going to Matarese, with only two votes going to other candidates.
Following the defeat of the DLP to the Nationals for a second time, with [[Agnes Ingram]] becoming [[Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Prime Minister]], and [[Erico D'Antonio]] returning to the [[President of Imagua and the Assimas|Imaguan presidency]], Edmondo Privitera was urged to try and run for the party leadership again, but Privitera declined, saying that "the time is not right for me to make a comeback [as leader of the DLP]." Thus, they selected [[Agostina Di Bari]] to serve as the party leader.
During his ninth term in the [[Lesser House of Imagua and the Assimas|Lesser House]] of [[Parliament of Imagua and the Assimas|Parliament]], Privitera continued to play a diminished role in the affairs of the DLP. However, Privitera did return to the shadow cabinet in 2007 when he was appointed the Shadow Minister of Minority Affairs. At around that time, he started to return to the political limelight.
In the 2008 elections, Erico D'Antonio's presidential term expired, which caused [[Agnes Ingram]] to run for the Presidency on behalf of the Nationals. At that point, they selected [[Winnie Read]] to be their presidential candidate, with Agostina Di Bari running for the Premiership.
On the local level, Privitera faced [[Settimio Campodonico]], who unlike all the other candidates he faced prior in the local elections, was a {{wp|paper candidate}}, as the National Party believed that Privitera cannot be defeated on the local level, but wanted to ensure that their voters in Rutigliano-South can vote for their candidate.
Thus, on 28 March, 2008, Privitera won with 83.5% of the vote, compared to Campodonico's 16.5% of the vote. However, the DLP did not fare as well as they hoped, as although they bumped their results up to 32 seats, they still remained the official opposition. Thus, Di Bari announced her resignation as party leader, and scheduled a leadership convention for July 2008. There, the delegates all elected Privitera by acclamation.
===Second tenure as Leader of the Opposition===
[[File:Rudy_Giuliani_at_Get_Motivated_Seminar,_Cow_Palace_3-24-09_3.JPG|150px|thumb|right|Edmondo Privitera at the 2011 leadership convention]]
As the Leader of the Opposition in the [[Lesser House of Imagua and the Assimas|Lesser House]] of the [[Parliament of Imagua and the Assimas|Imaguan Parliament]], Edmondo Privitera returned to this role for the first time in twenty-four years in July 2008.
Under this time, Privitera sought to use his role as leader of the opposition to help criticize the policies of the ruling [[National Party of Imagua|National Party]], especially under [[Prime Minister of Imagua|Prime Minister]] [[Saverio Merante]]. Thus, Privitera organized his shadow cabinet, with [[Gerald Larsson]] nominated as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
In March 2009, Privitera was met with a huge personal loss when Gerald Larsson died of {{wp|lung cancer}} at the age of 89. At Larsson's funeral, Privitera described Larsson as being "a mentor, a friend, and a father figure" to not only him, but the [[Democratic Labour Party of Imagua|Democratic Labour Party]]. Thus, in June of that year, he appointed [[Douglas Egnell]] to succeed Larsson as the deputy leader of the opposition.
In 2010, Edmondo Privitera openly criticized the decision by the National Party to admit more immigrants to [[Imagua and the Assimas]], saying that "while Merante says that they are much needed and will help improve the workforce, the rich fat cats in [[Cuanstad]] lay off our workers and hire them, as they are cheaper to use." Thus, he proposed a bill to require that Imaguans receive "top priority" in hiring any jobs in the country, with migrants to be chosen "if there are no Imaguans who qualify." While this bill was defeated in the Lesser House, it did attract a lot of support from the Imaguan population.
By 2011, Edmondo Privitera seemed poised to retake the premiership again. At the 2011 leadership convention, the DLP confirmed him as their nominee for the Premiership, but also nominated deputy leader [[Douglas Egnell]] to become Prime Minister in the event that their presidential candidate, [[Immacolata Contessa]] won against [[Agnes Ingram]].
Thus, when the writ was dropped on 30 January, 2012, Edmondo Privitera began his campaign, focusing his attention towards the national level. While locally, he was running against {{wp|paper candidate}} [[Leontina Lia]], on the national level, he was running against Merante.
While Privitera campaigned heavily on his proposals to increase regulations and to restrict immigration to Imagua, Merante campaigned on "continuing the course," and attacked the DLP for having "two centres of power (i.e. Egnell and Privitera)," which they viewed as "undermining party loyalty," and "anti-democratic."
When the first debates were held by the [[Imaguan Television Service|ITS]] in February, Privitera performed well in the {{wp|Italian language|Etrurian}} debates, while Egnell performed well in the {{wp|English language|Estmerish}} debates, compared to Saverio Merante. Thus, it seemed likely that the DLP may be able to form a majority in the Lesser House of Parliament.
However, on the personal level, Agnes Ingram maintained her popularity, and she was able to leverage her popularity against the DLP, saying that the DLP would "harm Imaguans" if elected by making it "impossible for companies to do business," meaning that "this exodus [of young people from Imagua] will only get worse."
Thus, as election day neared, both the DLP and the Nationals were polling relatively evenly.
However, on 23 March, 2012, the DLP secured thirty-six seats in the Lesser House of Parliament, compared to the National's thirty-four seats, or a gain of four seats in favour of the DLP. Unfortunately for Lia, more people voted Ingram for a second term, which was a "slightly disappointing result."
With this in mind, Lia conceded defeat to Ingram, while Merante conceded defeat to Privitera. Thus, during the next month, the DLP assembled their cabinet.
==Return to the Premiership==
===First year===
[[File:Rudy_Giuliani_2012-mc.rs.jpg|150px|thumb|left|Edmondo Privitera at a press conference, 2012]]
On 23 April, 2012, Edmondo Privitera was sworn in as [[Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Prime Minister]], succeeding [[Saverio Merante]]. As promised, Edmondo Privitera sought to reduce immigration to [[Imagua and the Assimas]], increase regulations, and to institute "free tertiary education" for all citizens living on the islands.
To this end, Edmondo Privitera's first course of action was to institute free tertiary education, saying that "for decades, educated young people are going abroad to study, and when they study abroad, they generally stay abroad as they are more likely to find better jobs abroad," and that by providing free tertiary education, "we will be able to diversify our economy away from the pillars of {{wp|financial sector|finance}} and {{wp|tourism}}."
This was passed with all DLP MPs voting in favour of the motion, while the [[National Party of Imagua|Nationals]] voting against it, except for two MPs who joined the DLP in voting in favour of it. In the [[Senate of Imagua and the Assimas|Imaguan Senate]], the bill passed with one vote. Thus, [[President of Imagua and the Assimas|President]] [[Agnes Ingram]] signed the bill into law.
With one key promise dealt with, Privitera moved his attention towards restricting immigration, with the DLP proposing and passing legislation which ended the temporary foreign worker programme, and cut the yearly total of immigrants allowed into the country by half.
By October 2012, only one area remained: increasing regulations, as over the past decade, the National Party of Imagua had reduced regulations, with Privitera in particular criticizing some of them, which he felt "harmed labour rights" and put workers at undue risk. Thus, over the next several months, regulations in certain areas of the economy were increased, in an effort to protect worker rights.
In March 2013, Privitera tabled his first budget, which included plans to increase funding to healthcare, social services, and education, with Privitera stating that "in the past decade, funding to them has been stagnant. It is time to move forward as a country." After a vote, the budget passed.
===Second year===
With the passage of the budget, Privitera felt emboldened as he entered his second year of his third term in the [[Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Prime Ministerial office]]. At that point in time, the governing [[Democratic Labour Party of Imagua and the Assimas|Democratic Labour Party]] had high approval ratings, with 38% of people reporting that the government's performance has been "excellent," 33% reporting it as "satisfactory," and only 29% reporting it as "poor."
With support from around seventy-percent of the population, Edmondo Privitera was confident in continuing to execute the government's legislative agenda. Thus, he set his priorities in improving services: in June 2013, the government approved funding for a {{wp|children's hospital}} to be built in [[Altaithe]], making it the first children's hospital in [[Imagua and the Assimas|Imagua]]. At the same time, the government focused on investing "billions of [[Imaguan shilling|shillings]]" into the [[Education in Imagua and the Assimas|nation's education system]] to help fix the nation's schools "so they may be at a high international standard."
However, in late 2013, things started to sour, as the [[Mariranan Civil War]] broke out in [[Marirana]]. This forced the government to shift their focus away from domestic policy and back to foreign policy, as many in the DLP wanted to support the [[Mariranan National Council]], as opposed to the Mariranan government. While Privitera wanted to support the CNM, as [[Agnes Ingram]] remained [[President of Imagua and the Assimas|President]], she declared in September that the government in Marirana "was the only legitimate government," and called the CNM "traitorous."
By early 2014, it became clear that an influx of refugees would be arriving on the shores of Imagua and the Assimas. Thus, in January 2014, the government passed a bill to institute a {{wp|wet feet, dry feet policy|wet foot, dry foot policy}} in which refugees intercepted by the [[Imaguan Coast Guard]] would be repatriated back to Marirana, while those who landed on Imagua and the Assimas would be registered as {{wp|refugees}}.
This was criticized by many in the DLP, with backbencher [[Jonas Grimas]] arguing that it was a "severe betrayal of the campaign promise to limit immigration."
In contrast, Privitera said that "as the [[National Party of Imagua|National Party]] maintain control of the Presidency and the [[Senate of Imagua and the Assimas|Senate]], we cannot afford to alienate their interests."
Despite this situation, in the 2014 budget, while it did maintain the increased funding to social services, education, and healthcare, it also increased funding to the [[Imaguan Constabulary]] to deal with the "increasing numbers of refugees from Marirana."
===Third year===
[[File:U.S._Marine_Corps_enlistees_pose_for_a_photo_with_Rudy_Giuliani.jpg|150px|thumb|right|Privitera with cadets in the [[Imaguan Constabulary]], 2014]]
With the 2014 budget passed, Edmondo Privitera knew that he had to focus on dealing with the refugee crisis, as the [[Mariranan Civil War|civil war in Marirana]] began to displace more people from their homes. Thus, two {{wp|refugee camps}} were established, the [[Sant'Albano Refugee Camp]] at [[Saint Fiacre's Parish|Saint Fiacre's]], and the [[Piavenna Refugee Camp]] at his hometown of [[Piavenna, Imagua and the Assimas|Piavenna]], which were designed to accommodate five thousand refugees in each camp.
However, by June, it was estimated that the number of refugees who "landed" at [[Imagua and the Assimas]] reached fifteen thousand, which was more than the camps were able to handle. This forced the government to grant those with refugee status the right to work and reside in Imagua and the Assimas, with the two refugee camps being turned into "processing centres" where their claims would be processed.
Due to this decision, it helped attract more refugees to Imagua and the Assimas: by September 2014, it was estimated that the refugee population had risen to thirty thousand people. While [[Agnes Ingram]] supported the refugees, saying that "people have the right to flee conflict for the tranquility of Imagua," many Imaguans were becoming more critical of the refugee situation, with many demanding that they be resettled in another country.
This led to decreasing support of the [[Democratic Labour Party of Imagua|Democratic Labour Party]] from among the population, as many felt that the DLP was "too soft on immigration." However, the decision by the [[National Party of Imagua|National Party]] to also support refugee settlement in Imagua also helped take a toll on the popularity of the National Party.
By November 2014, tensions were starting to rise between the refugee population and the residents of Imagua and the Assimas, with anti-refugee rallies taking place in [[Cuanstad]] and [[San Pietro, Imagua and the Assimas|San Pietro]]. While there were those who supported refugees, with pro-refugee rallies taking place in Cuanstad in reaction to the anti-refugee rallies, opinion polls strongly suggested a higher degree of opposition to the presence of refugees in Imagua, with 67% disapproving of the governmental policies to allow refugees to stay.
In January 2015, the budget again increased funding to the Imaguan Constabulary to deal with the refugee crisis. In addition, the government sought to implement policies which would tighten the number of refugees coming over into Imagua and the Assimas.
After the 2015 budget passed the [[Lesser House of Imagua and the Assimas|Lesser House]] of [[Parliament of Imagua and the Assimas|Parliament]], Edmondo Privitera started to focus his attention towards the 2016 general elections. In May 2015, a leadership convention was called by the [[Democratic Labour Party of Imagua and the Assimas|Democratic Labour Party]].
At the leadership convention, Edmondo Privitera announced his intention to run for the [[President of Imagua and the Assimas|Presidency]], stating that "over the past four decades of service in government, I have been delighted to be able to help shape this country for the better. I feel my life's destiny would to become President."
After being acclaimed as the presidential nominee, the matter was to decide on a successor. While [[Deputy Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Deputy Prime Minister]] [[Douglas Egnell]] attracted a lot of support, with Privitera endorsing Egnell to be the nominee for the premiership in 2016, [[Jonas Grimas]] also ran for the Prime Ministerial nomination, claiming that Egnell would be "soft on immigration," and "soft on crime," and accused Egnell of being a "[[National Party of Imagua|National]] in sheep's clothing." In the aftermath, Egnell managed to prevail over Grimas, 60% to 40%, thus making him the Prime Ministerial candidate for the next general election.
With this settled, Edmondo Privitera returned his attention to the refugee crisis: in July 2015, it was estimated that the number of refugees who "landed" on [[Imagua and the Assimas]] was at 75,000 people. In August 2015, he announced plans to "discuss with other nations the possibility of resettling the refugees in other countries," especially in fellow member states of the [[Council of Estmerish Language States]].
As well, Edmondo Privitera began to institute restrictions on new refugees: in October 2015, he tightened the rules, so to designate all "rocks" and minor islets "wet feet" for immigration purposes, thus meaning that those who landed on them would be ineligible to claim asylum, and would be repatriated back to [[Marirana]].
By around this time, there was starting to be an outcry from the international community of the {{wp|refoulement}} of refugees, but Privitera defended the decision, saying "we are a small nation of barely over a million. If we had to take every single refugee, it would completely and utterly overwhelm us, and we'd become a minority in our own land."
In January 2016, Privitera tabled a budget, which was designed to not only help deal with the refugee crisis, but also invest "handsomely" in as many fields as possible, which caused many to accuse the DLP of "attempting to win over voters" prior to the upcoming general elections.
On 25 January, 2016, after the budget was passed, Privitera requested that [[Agnes Ingram]] {{wp|dissolve}} [[Parliament of Imagua and the Assimas|Parliament]] and call an election to be held on 25 March. This request was granted, thereby starting the election campaign. On that date, he also stepped down as MP for Rutigliano-West, with the DLP nominating [[Ermenegarda Ambrosia]] to succeed him.
===2016 general election===
Edmondo Privitera entered the presidential campaign in an optimistic manner, as he was facing against former [[Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Prime Minister]] [[Saverio Merante]] of the [[National Party of Imagua|National Party]] for the presidential position.
The National Party not doing as well in the polls compared to the [[Democratic Labour Party of Imagua|Democratic Labour Party]], due to a combination of the {{wp|anti-incumbency}} factor as the National Party had been in power in some shape or form since 2001, and the "mishandling of the National Party" when it came to the refugee crisis that was occurring as a result of the [[Mariranan Civil War]], which meant that the DLP had a strong chance of not only maintaining control of the [[Lesser House of Imagua and the Assimas|Lesser House]] of [[Parliament of Imagua and the Assimas|Parliament]], but also taking the [[President of Imagua and the Assimas|Presidency]] from the Nationals.
Thus, while the parliamentary election campaign was focused more on dealing with the refugee crisis, Edmondo Privitera chose to focus his attention on the anti-incumbency factor, as he believed that as many Imaguans were opposed to Mariranan refugees, "it'd be a bit redundant to focus too heavily on stoking the oppositions." Thus, Privitera attacked the National's record, saying that from 2001 to 2012, the Nationals had "substantially undermined the rights of the working class," "sold our country out to the corporations in [[Asteria Superior]] and [[Euclea]]," and vowed to "continue the progress that we have made in the past four years."
At the Presidential debates, Privitera performed extraordinarily well against Saverio Merante, with Privitera's performance in the debates helping boost his popularity among voters, as Privitera was perceived to have more experience, and was more willing to address the problems facing [[Imagua and the Assimas]].
By March 25, 2016, Edmondo Privitera was elected with 62.7% of the vote, compared to Merante's 31.9%. The remainder mostly went to other candidates, most notably the [[Green Party of Imagua|Greens]], who made a breakthrough when [[Mystelle Stone]] won a seat in the Lesser House, although the DLP were able to control thirty-seven seats, thereby maintaining their majority government. That night, Merante conceded defeat to Privitera.
Following this, the cabinet was organized, with [[Douglas Egnell]] appointed Prime Minister-designate.
==Presidency==
==Presidency==
===First term===
[[File:Rudy_Giuliani_(49276594502).jpg|250px|thumb|right|Edmondo Privitera at the 2020 presidential debates]]
On 23 April, 2016, Edmondo Privitera was sworn in as the twelfth [[President of Imagua and the Assimas]], succeeding outgoing President [[Agnes Ingram]]. He would appoint Douglas Egnell to serve as Prime Minister, who in turn appointed his cabinet.
On 23 April, 2016, Edmondo Privitera was sworn in as the twelfth [[President of Imagua and the Assimas]], with [[Douglas Egnell]], former [[Deputy Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas|Deputy Prime Minister]], being sworn in as [[Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas]].
Privitera urged the governing [[Democratic Labour Party of Imagua|Democratic Labour Party]] on his inaugural speech to "take serious action to resettle refugees to other countries outside the [[Arucian Sea|Arucian]] region," so that the [[Marirana|Mariranan]] refugees would "not overwhelm our ability to integrate them into the body politic."
Thus, over the next few months, Privitera negotiated with the [[Valentir|Valentirian]] government to resettle "all incoming refugees to Valentir." After hammering out the details, the agreement was ratified, and the {{wp|wet feet, dry feet policy|wet foot, dry foot}} policy was altered so that those who arrived on land would be sent to [[Valentir]]. In August 2016, Privitera cut ties with the [[Marirana|Mariranan government]], and declared the [[Mariranan National Council]] to be the "sole legitimate government" of Marirana, as it was "the most viable alternative" to the "oppressive government."
While Edmondo Privitera continued to advocate for policy changes and cooperated extensively with the Democratic Labour Party, he also had to maintain the "separation of the executive and legislative" branches of government, which meant that unlike his tenure as Prime Minister, Privitera played a relatively smaller role in shaping the affairs of day-to-day governmental decisions.
As president, Edmondo Privitera would represent Imagua internationally, and attend ceremonial events within Imagua. With a DLP majority in his first term, Privitera played a marginal role in Imaguan politics during that time, as per {{wp|constitutional convention (custom)|constitutional convention}}, Douglas Egnell's government handled all affairs. In 2019, after declaring that he would run for a second term as President, the DLP subsequently nominated him to be their presidential nominee.
Thus, over the next few years, Edmondo Privitera served primarily as a figurehead, although he frequently travelled abroad to represent Imagua and the Assimas at international events.
While Privitera defeated Sotirian Labour candidate [[Dennis Egnell]] in the [[Elections in Imagua and the Assimas#2020|2020 general election]] with 57.16% to Egnell's 42.40% of the vote, the DLP lost its parliamentary majority, with the [[Movement for a New Imagua]], a party led by [[Dalmazio Pasquarello]] increasing its seat total to 16, causing the DLP to fall to 27 seats, just two ahead of the Sotirian Labour Party.
At the 2019 leadership convention, Edmondo Privitera was endorsed by the DLP to their nominee for the presidency, while Douglas Egnell was endorsed to be their Prime Ministerial nominee.
This affected Privitera's second term, as it is now likely for a {{wp|snap election}} to be called for the Chamber of Commons if the DLP loses budgetary votes. Due to the DLP's status as a minority government, Edmondo Privitera has taken on an increased role in his second term, with Privitera often consulting with Egnell as to how to "maintain government" for a full term.
In 1963, Edmondo Privitera first met the 18-year old [[Delfina Privitera|Delfina Berenato]]. Quickly falling in love, they remained in a relationship until they married in November 1967. According to Delfina in 2008, the marriage had been "a happy marriage." In 2018, a minor scandal emerged when it was revealed that they were second cousins, sharing a common great-grandmother.
In 1963, Edmondo Privitera first met the 18-year old [[Delfina Privitera|Delfina Berenato]]. Quickly falling in love, they remained in a relationship until they married in November 1967. According to Delfina in 2008, the marriage had been "a happy marriage." In 2018, a minor scandal emerged when it was revealed that they were second cousins, sharing a common great-grandmother. Delfina would die in 2019 at the age of 74 of {{wp|old age}}.
Together, they have three children: Linda Mortellaro, born in 1968, [[Leo Privitera]], born in 1971, and Cassandra Woods, born in 1973. He is also a grandfather, with four grandchildren: Liam Mortellaro, born in 1996, Berenice Privitera, born in 2001, Antero Privitera, born in 2004, and James Woods, born in 2006.
Together, they had three children: Linda Mortellaro, born in 1968, [[Leo Privitera]], born in 1971, and Cassandra Woods, born in 1973. He is also a grandfather, with four grandchildren: Liam Mortellaro, born in 1996, Berenice Privitera, born in 2001, Antero Privitera, born in 2004, and James Woods, born in 2006.
===Political views===
===Political views===
Edmondo Privitera for most of his political career was a {{wp|democratic socialist}}, as he believed that the economy should be organized on the basis of {{wp|workers' self-management}}, and that the capitalist system in place was "fundamentally incompatible with the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity."
Edmondo Privitera was a {{wp|democratic socialist}} in his early political career, as he believed that the economy should be organized on the basis of {{wp|workers' self-management}}, and that the capitalist system in place was "fundamentally incompatible with the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity."
However, in the 1990s, following his premiership, Privitera started to shift towards {{wp|social democracy}}, as he "learnt that capitalism, while not inherently good in and of itself, is the best system to ensure prosperity among all."
Privitera is supportive of {{wp|abortion}}, saying that it should be legal until twenty weeks for any reason, and up until birth for medical reasons for either the fetus or mother, or if the fetus is conceived due to rape.
He is also supportive of {{wp|same-sex marriage}}, saying in 2019 that "it is time to step up our game, to legalize same-sex marriage." In addition, he is supportive of the {{wp|environmental movement}}, saying that "it is everyone's responsibility to preserve the environment, for no one can be as lucky as [[Etruria]], [[Estmere]], or [[Xiaodong]]."
He is also a supporter of free public education, helping oversee the institution of free tuition for domestic universities in 2012, as he believes that free tuition would "counteract the nation's {{wp|brain drain}}."
However, in the 1980s, following the [[Recession of 1980]], Privitera started to shift towards {{wp|social democracy}}, as he "learnt that capitalism, while not inherently good in and of itself, is the best system to ensure prosperity among all."
However, Privitera, while supportive of legal immigration, believes that levels should be low, as he has expressed concern many times that immigration was used "only to help the elites in [[Cuanstad]] by giving them a cheap source of labour," while giving the employers an excuse to fire Imaguans.
Privitera supports {{wp|abortion}}, saying that it should be legal until twenty weeks for any reason, and up until birth for medical reasons for either the fetus or mother, or if the fetus is conceived due to rape, and supports {{wp|civil unions}}, with a long term goal of supporting {{wp|same-sex marriage}}. He is supportive of the {{wp|environmental movement}}, saying that "it is everyone's responsibility to preserve the environment, for no one can be as lucky as [[Etruria]], [[Estmere]], or [[Shangea]]," and supports low levels of legal immigration, due to concerns that immigrants were used "only to help the elites in [[Cuanstad]] by giving them a cheap source of labour," while giving the employers an excuse to fire Imaguans.
===Religion===
===Religion===
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Line 174:
<blockquote>"''While I still believe in the basic principles of the Church, while I still believe in the Lord and the theology of the Church, I have not been as active in the Church since the mid-1990s, because I have committed all my attention and energy towards improving the lot of the people in this world''."</blockquote>
<blockquote>"''While I still believe in the basic principles of the Church, while I still believe in the Lord and the theology of the Church, I have not been as active in the Church since the mid-1990s, because I have committed all my attention and energy towards improving the lot of the people in this world''."</blockquote>
While he still attends {{wp|Easter}} and {{wp|Christmas}} mass, Privitera otherwise does not attend mass.
While he still attends {{wp|Easter}} and {{wp|Nativity}} mass, Privitera otherwise does not attend mass.
Edmondo Privitera (b. 28 May, 1944) is the current President of Imagua and the Assimas, having been elected to the Imaguan presidency in March 2016, and previously served as the former Prime Minister, serving from 1984 to 1992.
First entering politics in 1968 as a county councillor for the Assimas County assembly, Privitera would enter Parliament in 1972 at the age of 28, making him one of the youngest legislators at the time. He would rise through the ranks, becoming Justice Minister and Defence Minister in 1976 under Pietro Muro's government. Following the death of Anthony Brockett in 1981, Privitera became Deputy Prime Minister, serving until Marguerite Ernman, the erstwhile Prime Minister ran for the Imaguan presidency in 1984.
As Prime Minister, Edmondo Privitera continued his predecessor's neoliberal reforms, and oversaw the legalisation of abortion in Imagua in 1988, Imagua joining the Arucian Cooperation Organization that same year, and decriminalising homosexuality in 1991. However, his premiership was marred by scandals involving his association with Baigent Powell and Pietro Muro, and following a failed attempt to run for the presidential nomination in 1992, Privitera resigned from the Chamber of Commons in 1993.
From 1994 until 2011, Edmondo Privitera would work for the Committee for Foreign and Community Relations in the Arucian Cooperation Organization. After his retirement from the ACO, Privitera returned to politics in the mid-2010s, culminating in his successful bid for President against Saverio Merante in the 2016 general election, and his subsequent inauguration on 23 April, 2016.
Edmondo Privitera was born on 28 May, 1944 in the town of Piavenna, as the third and youngest child, and second son, of shopkeeper and reservist Gioele Privitera and housewife Flaviana Privitera. When he was nearly two and a half years of age, the Assimas Islands were ceded from Etruria to Estmere, who attached the islands to Imagua, thereby establishing the present-day nation of Imagua and the Assimas.
In 1949, he began attending school at the Piavenna Primary School, where he was described as being a "middling student," although "very charismatic." In 1953, he was enrolled at the Piavenna Middle School, and in 1955, when he took the eleven-plus, he passed "by sheer luck," and thus was able to enroll at a grammar school.
As there were no grammar schools in Piavenna, he was enrolled at the Legionario Grammar School at Rutigliano. There, he was described as a "middling student," but was noted by his teachers to be "charismatic," with one teacher noting his potential to enter the political arena.
In 1960, he took the O-levels and passed with flying colours. Thus, he was allowed to go into Sixth Form: after passing his A-levels in 1962, he obtained a scholarship at the Università di San Pietro, where he majored in law. He obtained a bachelor's degree in 1965, and gained a master's degree in 1967 in law. That year, he married Delfina Berenato, after having dated her for four years.
However, Edmondo Privitera soon decided to not become a lawyer, instead seeking to enter politics as he felt that "the only way to make a change is to not work as a lawyer or a judge, but rather, as a politician."
Early political career
County councillor and early Parliamentary career
Edmondo Privitera, 1972
In 1968, Edmondo Privitera was elected to the county council to represent his hometown of Piavenna for the Democratic Labour Party. However, in his term as county councillor, Privitera realised that county governments lacked any substantial power early on, and began making plans to run for a seat in the Chamber of Commons in 1972. While the Assimas Autonomy Act of 1969 gave the Assimas more autonomy over education, welfare, and social development, Privitera concluded that the only way to make things better for the community was by entering the Chamber of Commons.
Following Verulo Campana's decision to retire in 1972, Privitera ran for the DLP in 1972 against Sotirian Democratic candidate Ottavio Trevisan, a factory owner in Rutigliano. However, Privitera's political experience and charisma helped the DLP keep the seat, winning with 60% of the vote.
After being sworn in on 23 April, 1972, Privitera began building up his base of support, aligning himself with Labour MinisterPietro Muro. In 1976, after Privitera was re-elected, Privitera was appointed to Muro's cabinet as Justice Minister and as Defence Minister. While Muro appointed Marguerite Ernman as his Deputy, Privitera's stature meant that he was seen as a future DLP leader, with Privitera being supported by Eric Fleming.
Privitera would keep his seat in 1980 despite facing a three-way race with Rosalia Annunziata and Aristarco Lenzini. He was subsequently reappointed to his portfolios.
Following the death of Anthony Brockett in 1981, Pietro Muro became President, while Marguerite Ernman became Acting Prime Minister. One of the first things she did was appoint an acting cabinet, with Edmondo Privitera becoming Deputy Prime Minister. While this role meant that he vacated his existing portfolios, it solidified Privitera's position within the Democratic Labour Party. He would remain in that role after the 1981 parliamentary election.
During Privitera's tenure as Deputy Prime Minister, Edmondo Privitera stood in for Marguerite Ernman whenever she travelled abroad. Furthermore, she often delegated her menial tasks to Privitera, giving Privitera responsibilities that outweighed the position's ceremonial role. At the same time, Privitera began preparing for a future Prime Ministerial run, with Privitera planning to run in 1988, as he expected Pietro Muro to continue to serve as President until then. Thus, he spent much of his deputy premiership building up support from within the Democratic Labour Party.
However, in 1983, Pietro Muro announced his retirement from Imaguan politics. With Marguerite Ernman expressing an interest at running for the Imaguan presidency, this "fast-tracked" Privitera's plans to run for the Imaguan premiership. At the 1983 leadership convention, with support from Pietro Muro, Edmondo Privitera secured the DLP nomination for the Imaguan Presidency.
When elections were called, Edmondo Privitera ran against National Labour leader Raniero Chinnici and Sotirian DemocratVictor Banks on the national level. However, due to vote-splitting among the right, it was expected that Privitera would keep his seat and be the next Prime Minister. After election results were announced, Privitera kept his seat by a comfortable margin, while the DLP maintained its hold on the Imaguan Parliament with 43 seats, with the 1984 election being the last time the DLP ever won with a majority of the vote.
On 23 April, 1984, Marguerite Ernman appointed Edmondo Privitera to be the thirteenth Prime Minister in her first act as President. The same day, Privitera unveiled his Cabinet, appointing Gerald Larsson to be his Deputy Prime Minister.
As Prime Minister, Edmondo Privitera continued Muro's and Ernman's neoliberal policies, defending them as the "only way Imagua can recover from the recession." However, he halted the privatisation of Air Imagua, although did not reverse the measures, as he believed that Air Imagua "would help attract tourists to Imagua." Furthermore, although he engaged in deregulation, Privitera refused to "undermine worker's rights," saying that he would rather "remain in recession with the worker's rights intact than be prosperous with no worker's rights."
By 1985, the Imaguan economy fully recovered from the recession. Despite the economic recovery, Privitera did not recreate the welfare state that had existed under Eric Fleming and Efrem Lacovara, blaming its inefficiencies for the recession in Imagua. While Privitera and the DLP saw an increase of popularity, Privitera's decision in 1986 to appoint Arturo Davino, a convicted drug trafficker and an associate of Baigent Powell to the Legislative Council damaged his image among the public. Pietro Muro's finances also damaged Privitera, in part due to Privitera's association with Pietro Muro.
Despite these scandals damaging Privitera's reputation, Edmondo Privitera was nominated in 1987 to serve as the party's prime ministerial nominee, with Marguerite Ernman nominated to serve a second term. Thus, by 1988, Privitera would face off against Edwin Burke of the SDP and Dale Morse of the National Labour Party in that year's elections. In his home constituency, Privitera faced Pompeo Pisoni of the National Labour Party, although despite the NLP being the only major opposition party to run against him in his own constituency, Rutigliano-Piavenna was still a safe DLP seat, freeing Privitera to focuse exclusively on national campaigning.
On 25 March, 1988, Privitera won his own seat with 65.4% of the vote, with Pisoni only gaining 32.1% of the vote, and 2.1% going to other candidates. On the national level, the DLP took 38 seats in the Chamber of Commons, which was a decrease of five seats, but still enough to maintain a majority government.
Second term
On 23 April, 1988, Marguerite Ernman was sworn in for her second term as President, with Edmondo Privitera and his cabinet also being sworn in for their second term as government.
In the early days of his second term, Privitera officially signed the Treaty of TBD creating the Arucian Cooperation Organization, although at the time, the ACO lacked a customs union, common market, and did not have freedom of movement. As well, Privitera sought to legalise abortion in Imagua, which proved to be very controversial, with the initial bill legalising abortion up to twenty weeks for any reason.
After heated debates and discussions, the bill was watered down, so to allow abortions to be received only in case of medical reasons, or if the child was conceived of rape. While this helped ensure support from the National Labour Party, it was opposed by both the left-wing of the Democratic Labour Party for not being pro-choice enough, and from the remnants of the Sotirian Democrats, who viewed it as going "too far." After passing the Senate, the Abortion Act of 1988 was signed on 22 September, 1988 by Ernman, and went into effect on 1 January, 1989.
Following the legalisation of abortion, Edmondo Privitera shifted his attention towards increasing environmental regulations, with Privitera's Environment MinisterIsaiah Russell tabling a bill that would tighten environmental standards to the point where it would be some of the tightest environmental standards in the Asterias at that time. While this bill was supported among many in the DLP, Conservatives and the unions both opposed the bill for "harming Imagua's declining industries." However, he was able to pass the Imaguan Environmental Act of 1989 in the summer of 1989.
By the early 1990s, Edmondo Privitera's government was losing popularity, due to a combination of anti-incumbency for the DLP, many Imaguans opposing the legalisation of abortion, and his continued association with Pietro Muro. This was exacerbated in 1991, when his government decriminalised homosexuality, saying that "it is time to end this notion that homosexuality between consenting adults is a crime, or an illness." Although it was supported among younger generations, the National Labour Party and Sotirian Labour Party were very critical of the decriminalisation of homosexuality, with virtually all Imaguan churches coming out in opposition to the law.
At the 1991 leadership convention, Edmondo Privitera tried to run for the presidential nomination, as Ernman's two terms were up. However, due to his association with Pietro Muro's government and decreasing popularity, he was defeated by Isidoro Libero, although Privitera was relieved that Gerald Larsson was the DLP nominee for the Imaguan premiership. He would campaign for Libero and Larsson in the 1992 general election.
Post-premiership
Backbencher and ACO work
Edmondo Privitera at an ACO event, 2003
Due to redistricting, Edmondo Privitera had to run in a new constituency for the 1992 general election. Despite his defeat at the 1991 leadership convention, Privitera was able to maintain enough of a position in the Democratic Labour Party to secure a nomination for the newly-established Rutigliano-East. He would run against NLP candidate Ulfo Correale, and would win the seat with 52% of the vote.
However, in January 1993, Privitera was questioned by the Assimas Police Force over his connections with a "corruption ring" that included Pietro Muro and Baigent Powell. While he was never charged with involvement in the corruption ring, many Imaguans saw Privitera as being complicit with the corruption ring, and called for Privitera to resign. Thus, in March 1993, Privitera resigned from the Chamber of Commons, to "spend more time with family."
Following his resignation from the Chamber of Commons, Edmondo Privitera would initially be reclusive, but by 1994, he would work for the Arucian Cooperation Organization as a member of the Committee for Foreign and Community Relations. Privitera would emerge as an advocate for free movement among the organisation's members following the establishment of a customs union in 1993, believing that free movement would "deepen the bonds between our Arucian family." Privitera also sought to deepen the ACO's ties with the Euclean Community, particularly Estmere and Gaullica, with Privitera saying in 2002 that the EC was "what the ACO should be in fifty years."
During the 1990s and 2000s, Edmondo Privitera maintained contacts within the Democratic Labour Party, although due to his commitment to his job with the ACO, and concerns of his association with Pietro Muro and with the "general corruption" that had existed in the Democratic Labour Party during the 1980s, Privitera played a fairly marginal role within the DLP. He would remain involved with the CRÉC until 2011, when Edmondo Privitera announced his retirement from his role at the Arucian Cooperation Organization, citing his age.
Return to public life
Following Privitera's retirement from the Arucian Cooperation Organization, Edmondo Privitera would begin returning to public life. At the 2011 Democratic Labour leadership convention, Edmondo Privitera endorsed Immacolata Contessa and Agostina Di Bari in their bids for the Imaguan presidency and premiership respectively.
Following the 2012 general election, Edmondo Privitera began to take on a more prominent role within the party, with pundits predicting that Edmondo Privitera would run for the Imaguan presidency in 2016. During this period, Edmondo Privitera frequently criticised the Sotirian Labour Party for its "neglect of working people while sucking the teat of the banks." Privitera also served as a DLP spokesman, promoting the DLP and its vision of a "credible and competent government."
At the 2015 leadership convention, Edmondo Privitera was nominated to be the DLP presidential nominee for the 2016 general election, with Privitera endorsing Douglas Egnell to be the DLP nominee for the Imaguan premiership. The following year, he would run against Saverio Merante of the Sotirian Labour Party. His campaign focused on "real change," as the Sotirian Labour Party had been in power since the 2000 general election, which made his campaign attractive to Imaguans. This was helped by his performance in the presidential debates against Merante. Due to his campaign, Privitera would win the presidency with 63.58% of the vote against Merante's 36.30% of the vote.
Presidency
Edmondo Privitera at the 2020 presidential debates
On 23 April, 2016, Edmondo Privitera was sworn in as the twelfth President of Imagua and the Assimas, succeeding outgoing President Agnes Ingram. He would appoint Douglas Egnell to serve as Prime Minister, who in turn appointed his cabinet.
As president, Edmondo Privitera would represent Imagua internationally, and attend ceremonial events within Imagua. With a DLP majority in his first term, Privitera played a marginal role in Imaguan politics during that time, as per constitutional convention, Douglas Egnell's government handled all affairs. In 2019, after declaring that he would run for a second term as President, the DLP subsequently nominated him to be their presidential nominee.
While Privitera defeated Sotirian Labour candidate Dennis Egnell in the 2020 general election with 57.16% to Egnell's 42.40% of the vote, the DLP lost its parliamentary majority, with the Movement for a New Imagua, a party led by Dalmazio Pasquarello increasing its seat total to 16, causing the DLP to fall to 27 seats, just two ahead of the Sotirian Labour Party.
This affected Privitera's second term, as it is now likely for a snap election to be called for the Chamber of Commons if the DLP loses budgetary votes. Due to the DLP's status as a minority government, Edmondo Privitera has taken on an increased role in his second term, with Privitera often consulting with Egnell as to how to "maintain government" for a full term.
In 1963, Edmondo Privitera first met the 18-year old Delfina Berenato. Quickly falling in love, they remained in a relationship until they married in November 1967. According to Delfina in 2008, the marriage had been "a happy marriage." In 2018, a minor scandal emerged when it was revealed that they were second cousins, sharing a common great-grandmother. Delfina would die in 2019 at the age of 74 of old age.
Together, they had three children: Linda Mortellaro, born in 1968, Leo Privitera, born in 1971, and Cassandra Woods, born in 1973. He is also a grandfather, with four grandchildren: Liam Mortellaro, born in 1996, Berenice Privitera, born in 2001, Antero Privitera, born in 2004, and James Woods, born in 2006.
Political views
Edmondo Privitera was a democratic socialist in his early political career, as he believed that the economy should be organized on the basis of workers' self-management, and that the capitalist system in place was "fundamentally incompatible with the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity."
However, in the 1980s, following the Recession of 1980, Privitera started to shift towards social democracy, as he "learnt that capitalism, while not inherently good in and of itself, is the best system to ensure prosperity among all."
Privitera supports abortion, saying that it should be legal until twenty weeks for any reason, and up until birth for medical reasons for either the fetus or mother, or if the fetus is conceived due to rape, and supports civil unions, with a long term goal of supporting same-sex marriage. He is supportive of the environmental movement, saying that "it is everyone's responsibility to preserve the environment, for no one can be as lucky as Etruria, Estmere, or Shangea," and supports low levels of legal immigration, due to concerns that immigrants were used "only to help the elites in Cuanstad by giving them a cheap source of labour," while giving the employers an excuse to fire Imaguans.
Religion
Edmondo Privitera had been baptized as a Solarian Catholic, and had been a practicing Solarian Catholic during his first tenure as Prime Minister. However, in the 1990s, he became a lapsed Catholic, saying in 2008 that:
"While I still believe in the basic principles of the Church, while I still believe in the Lord and the theology of the Church, I have not been as active in the Church since the mid-1990s, because I have committed all my attention and energy towards improving the lot of the people in this world."
While he still attends Easter and Nativity mass, Privitera otherwise does not attend mass.
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