by Simone Billi

I was elected in 2018 to the Chamber of Deputies in the Abroad-Europe Constituency for the Center-Right Coalition with 14,355 preferences. I am chairman of the Committee for Italians in the World of the Foreign Affairs Committee. I pride myself with 94.8 percent attendance in Parliament, the most among the overseas elected deputies of all parties.

After 5 years of working in Parliament serving the Italian Community abroad, I was asked to renew my commitment. I decided to accept with enthusiasm. And, as a Member of the Machiavelli Center, I am pleased to introduce myself and explain why I'm running againg to its readers.

Who I am

I am 46 years old and was born in Florence, Italy, where I graduated in industrial engineering. I later specialized in European and international industrial law at the Robert Schuman University in Strasbourg and in patent litigation at the Milan Politecnico. I obtained the qualifications of European Patent Attorney, European Patent Litigator, Italian Patent Attorney and Industrial Design Attorney. After graduating in engineering, I started working in a prestigious Florentine industrial property law firm and later as a manager in a Florence-based multinational company in the energy sector.

In 2012 I moved for work to Zurich, in a French-Swiss multinational company, again in the energy sector. I have cultivated a passion for politics since I was a boy (in Florence I was also a neighborhood councilor) and so in Zurich I maintained a commitment to civic associationism, particularly among the Italian community. When in 2018 I was chosen by the Center-Right to represent Italians abroad in Parliament, I accepted with enthusiasm. I turned out to be the only one elected for the Center-Right in the Abroad-Europe Constituency with 14,355 preferences: since then, I have been devoting myself full-time to the activity on the ground with courage and passion.

What I did in Parliament

As I said, I am among those elected abroad the one with the highest attendance in Parliament: 94.8 percent. I have been in most of the countries in my constituency; in the House I was chosen as Chairman of the Committee for Italians in the World of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

I can proudly mention a number of successes achieved as an MP: the activation of the electronic identity card for Italians abroad, the opening of consulates in Manchester and the Canary Islands, the appointment of the new honorary consular agent in Woking, the expansion of staffing for the Italian consular network, the postponement of the obligation to use SPID for consular services, the resumption of Italian language courses in Freiburg and London, and tax breaks for retirees returning to Italy. In addition, during the covid period I worked for British vaccination certification to be recognized in Italy and to make it easier for Italians to enter and leave the country. Again in the last budget law, thanks to my amendments, I obtained more funding for contractors in the consular network, for Italian schools abroad, for the internationalization of chambers of commerce abroad, and for the Italian community in Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia.

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My principles

I have carefully read the guidelines prepared by the Machiavelli for the new legislature and, in particular, the 6 selected by readers as priorities. Therefore, I can guarantee my commitment in the next term to support them as well. In particular, I will work to ensure that immigration by descendants of Italian emigrants is privileged and that the history and traditions of our country are known, disseminated and protected abroad as well - primarily among the Italian communities there, but also to all those foreigners who may be fascinated by our millenary civilization.

How to vote for me

I am a candidate in the Abroad-Europe Constituency, which includes all countries on the European continent, from Portugal to Russia. Three million Italians reside there.

Consulates will send the ballot envelope to the home of every voter registered with AIRE by September 7. The date of receipt of the envelope will clearly depend on the time taken to deliver it by the national postal service. The ballot envelope with the voted envelope must be received at the Consulate by 4 p.m. on September 22. If you have not received the ballot envelope, you can contact your Consulate from September 11 to request a copy. Generally, each Consulate has set up a special email for requesting a duplicate, which you can find on the Consulate's website, or go to the Consulate to pick it up in person.

To vote for me you must cross out the Center-Right logo and next to it write Billi on the ballot for the Chamber of Deputies.

Congressman elected to the Chamber of Deputies in the Foreign - Europe Circumscription. Group leader of Lega in the Foreign Affairs Committee and chairman of the Committee for Italians in the World. He holds a degree in industrial engineering and is an executive in the intellectual property sector.