Paolo Demarco
The Honourable Paolo Demarco Serra BA, JD | |
|---|---|
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| Opposition leader in the Constazione Repubblicana | |
| Assumed office November 27, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Dominic de Brincat (FPD) |
| Constituency | Provencia-4 |
| Party leader of the Christian Democrats | |
| Assumed office March 15, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Vincenzo Promarche |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 6, 1961 (age 63) Certemala, Provencia |
| Nationality |  Pacitalian |
| Political party | Christian Democrats (2014-) |
| Spouse | Arianna Mornella (m. 1995) |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | University of Saronno (BA) Benedictine University of Trasteveria (JD) |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Salary | Đ 85,360 (2024) |
| Website | http://www.gov.pc/en/cr/mpr/demarco-paolo/ |
Paolo Giuseppe Antonio Demarco Serra, BA, JD (born May 6, 1961) is a Pacitalian politician and lawyer, serving as the 11th and current leader of the Christian Democrats since March 15, 2021. As the leader of the largest parliamentary assembly that is not part of the government, as of December 2024, Demarco also serves as the primary opposition leader in the Pacitalian parliament.
Born in Certemala, a suburb of Attalona, Demarco was the seventh of nine children born to Giuseppe and Antonia (née Brava). His family was working-class and devoutly Catholic. Demarco's father was a bricklayer and served the cathedral as a deacon; his mother worked as a midwife.
A trial lawyer by profession, Demarco entered parliament at the 2017 parliamentary elections. He was 12th on the party list and was therefore elected to the Constazione Repubblicana, one of 35 list candidates the Christian Democrats returned to the lower chamber that year. The following election, Demarco moved off the party list, offering as the Christian Democrats' candidate for electorate 4 in Provencia, a seat he won in the runoff. He was one of only four victorious electorate seat candidates for his party in 2020. He immediately assumed a much higher profile in his second term, under then-leader Vincenzo Promarche, becoming the party's deputy leader and justice spokesperson.
After Promarche's retirement as leader in 2021, Demarco was elected his successor unopposed, becoming the party's new leader. In the 2023 election, he helped lead his party to their best-ever parliamentary election result, becoming the second-largest assembly in both houses of parliament, supplanting the more liberal Federation of Progressive Democrats as the standard bearer of the centre-right in Pacitalian politics, and marking the first time that the Christian Democrats' party leader served as the main opposition leader in parliament.
The following year, riding a wave of popular discontent with the incumbent centre-left Pacitalian Social Democratic Congress, Demarco led the Christian Democrats to a first-place finish in the 2024 regional elections, returning the largest share of regional deputies, mayors and municipal councillors across the country among all parties.
Demarco is viewed as both fiscally and socially conservative, but has at times expressed liberal, libertarian or traditionalist views on a number of economic and social issues. For example, Demarco has argued for Christianity and Christian teachings to retake a central role in Pacitalian society. He has repeatedly stated that the nuclear family is vital to the stability of society. On the other hand, he has said major social issues, such as same-sex marriage and abortion, are "settled" and should not be revisited, even if there remains a range of beliefs or levels of acceptance.
Another example of Demarco's sometimes contrasting views emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pacitalia. He is strongly supportive of vaccines and of Pacitalia's long history of compulsory vaccination. But he was equally strong in his opposition to repeated lockdowns and mask mandates, citing personal responsibility and individual choice.
Demarco obtained a humanities degree from the University of Saronno in 1983, followed by a law doctorate from the Roman Catholic Benedictine University of Trasteveria, in 1985. He went to work as a trial lawyer in Attalona the following year. Demarco's wife, Arianna, also a lawyer, worked at the same firm as Demarco. She remains in active practice. They have four children, the first of whom, Gianni, was born in 1989. Their youngest, Isabella, was born in 1996. The family remain practising Catholics.