Alberto Airola
{{Short description|Italian politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name =
| office = Member of the Senate of the Republic
| party = Five Star Movement
| termstart = 15 March 2013
| termend = 12 October 2022
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|7|6|df=y}}
| office2 = Leader of the 5 Star Movement in the Senate
| termstart2 = 16 October 2014
| termend2 = 15 January 2015
| image = Alberto Airola datisenato 2018.jpg
| birth_place = Moncalieri, Piedmont, Italy
}}
Alberto Airola (born 13 May 1970) is an Italian politician for the Five Star Movement.
Early life
Airola was born in Moncalieri, south of Turin in Piedmont.
Political career
Airola was elected to the Italian Senate in the 2013 general election. Airola became new leader of the 5 Star Movement in the Senate on 15 October 2014, taking over from Vito Rosario Petrocelli.{{Cite web|url=http://www.asca.it/news-M5S__Airola_nuovo_capogruppo_Senato-1431902-POL.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106191210/http://www.asca.it/news-M5S__Airola_nuovo_capogruppo_Senato-1431902-POL.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-11-06|title=M5S: Airola nuovo capogruppo Senato - ASCA.it|date=2014-11-06|access-date=2019-12-15}}
After the 2017 Turin stampede in the Piazza San Carlo, Airola disputed the estimate of the number of injuries caused by the crowd, claiming to be false figures disseminated in order to attack the mayor Chiara Appendino.{{Cite web|url=https://torino.repubblica.it/cronaca/2017/06/04/news/torino_il_parlamentare_grillino_contesta_i_numeri_dei_feriti_dati_farlocchi_contro_la_giunta_m5s_-167203030/|title=Calca a Torino, Airola (M5s) si scusa dopo l'attacco : "Numeri farlocchi per attaccare Appendino"|date=2017-06-04|website=Repubblica.it|language=it|access-date=2019-12-15}}
Airola has been a critic of Matteo Salvini.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/politica/droga-salvini-qualche-parlamentare-difende-perch-ne-fa-uso-1829811.html|title=Droga, Salvini: "Qualche parlamentare la difende perché ne fa uso"|last=Curridori|first=Francesco|date=2020-02-20|website=ilGiornale.it|language=it|access-date=2020-03-13}}
Personal life
On the night of 3 September 2017, Airola was attacked and robbed by two North African drug dealers in Turin. Following the struggle with the criminals he suffered a double jaw fracture.{{Cite web|url=http://www.corriere.it/politica/17_settembre_04/aggredito-senatore-m5s-airola-finisce-ospedale-dimesso-46ae4718-9140-11e7-8332-148b1c29464d.shtml|title=Il senatore M5S Airola aggredito e rapinato nella notte a Torino|last=Sola|first=Elisa|date=2017-04-09|website=Corriere della Sera|language=it|access-date=2019-12-15}}
On August 16, 2018 he attempted suicide in his bathroom at home in the Borgo Aurora neighborhood in Turin, but was saved by his sister who called 118.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/politica/2018/08/18/senatore-airola-tenta-il-suicidio-salvato-dalla-sorella-_84403cdc-e8d7-437a-8b4b-5d51d7d0b280.html|title=Senatore Airola tenta il suicidio, salvato dalla sorella - Politica|date=2018-08-18|website=ANSA.it|language=it|access-date=2019-12-15}} He has since recovered from the incident, thanking his sister for saving his life.{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.it/entry/alberto-airola-m5s-un-anno-fa-tentavo-il-suicidio-grazie-gisella_it_5d57d4d9e4b056fafd0c78f7|title=Alberto Airola (M5S): "Un anno fa tentavo il suicidio, grazie Gisella"|date=2019-08-17|website=L'HuffPost|language=it|access-date=2020-03-13}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20150429185030/http://www.albertoairola.it/ Official site]
- [http://www.senato.it/leg/18/BGT/Schede/Attsen/00029034.htm Italian Senate]
- [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9jbEQ-csqi0uJRQx_FNp6Q YouTube]