Gianluca Busato
{{short description|Italian politician}}
Gianluca Busato (born Treviso, 14 May 1969) is an Italian entrepreneur, engineer, activist and politician{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/gianluca.busato/info|title=Gianluca Busato|website=Facebook|publisher=|accessdate=30 March 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://news.panorama.it/politica/referendum-indipendenza-veneto|title=Il Veneto e il referendum per l'indipendenza (come la Crimea) - Panorama|first=Claudia|last=Daconto|date=20 March 2014|publisher=|accessdate=30 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140613072734/http://news.panorama.it/politica/referendum-indipendenza-veneto|archive-date=13 June 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.digitnut.com/wordpress/chi-siamo/board/|title=Board|date=22 September 2011|publisher=|accessdate=30 March 2017|archive-date=3 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503193848/http://www.digitnut.com/wordpress/chi-siamo/board/|url-status=dead}} who is mostly known as the main organiser of the unofficial and online Venetian independence referendum, which took place in March 2014.
As a university student of Engineering at the University of Padua, Busato joined Liga Veneta–Lega Nord and was elected municipal councillor in Casier. Having been expelled from that party, he was one of the founding members of the Padanian Independentist Movement in 1997 and was its spokesperson for two years.{{cite web|url=http://corrieredelveneto.corriere.it/veneto/notizie/politica/2014/18-marzo-2014/indipendenza-700-mila-voti-scontro-referendum-digitale-2224227569852.shtml|title="Indipendenza, 700 mila voti" Scontro sul referendum digitale|first=Marco|last=Bonet|date=18 March 2014|publisher=|accessdate=30 March 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1997/giugno/21/Archivio_del_tribunale_padano_volevano_co_0_97062114206.shtml|title=Archivio Corriere della Sera|publisher=|accessdate=30 March 2017}} In this capacity, he was convicted for having been an outspoken supporter of Padania and of the Venetian Most Serene Government's seizure of St. Mark's Campanile in Venice.{{cite web|url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1997/giugno/23/Veneto_spuntano_campi_paramilitari_co_0_97062313242.shtml|title=Archivio Corriere della Sera|publisher=|accessdate=30 March 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1998/gennaio/30/gli_indipendentisti_minacciano_rivolta_co_0_9801301536.shtml|title=Archivio Corriere della Sera|publisher=|accessdate=30 March 2017}} This last event led Busato to abandon his early Padanist feelings and to adhere to the Venetian independence movement.
According to his own words, Busato returned to active politics only after the depenalisation of "crimes of opinion". In 2006 he wrote a pamphlet on independence and was a founding member of the Venetians Movement{{cite web|url=http://www.pnveneto.org/2013/09/lo-stato-dellarte-dellindipendentismo-veneto-dopo-il-declino-di-iv-e-vs/ |title=Lo stato dell'arte dell'indipendentismo veneto dopo il declino di IV e VS | PLEBISCITO 2013 | PNV. Press News Veneto |publisher=Pnveneto.org |date=2008-01-15 |accessdate=2017-03-30}}{{cite web |title=cavarzere |url=http://www.cavarzere.it/leggi_notizia.php?id_notizia=492 |website=www.cavarzere.it}} and, a year later, he launched the libertarian and avowedly separatist Venetian National Party (PNV), and served as its national secretary from 2008 to 2010.{{cite web|url=http://www.pnveneto.org/about/forum-del-pnv/cariche-e-funsion-del-pnv/ |title=Cariche e funsion del pnv | PLEBISCITO 2013 | PNV. Press News Veneto |publisher=Pnveneto.org |date= 28 May 2008|accessdate=2017-03-30}} He was later active, often taking leadership roles, in a succession of separatist outfits, all emerged from bulk of the PNV: Veneto State (2010–2012), Venetian Independence (2012–2013), Plebiscite 2013 (2013–2014) and, finally, Veneto Yes (since 2013).
In 2014 Busato came to regional prominence as the main organiser of Plebiscito.eu, an online referendum on Veneto's independence. According to the staff, 2.36 million Venetians (63.2% of all eligible voters) participated in the online referendum and 89.1% of them (that is to say 56.6% of all eligible voters) voted yes.{{cite web|url=http://blog.plebiscito.eu/news/referendum-di-indipendenza-del-veneto-i-risultati/|title=REFERENDUM DI INDIPENDENZA DEL VENETO: I RISULTATI|date=22 March 2014|publisher=|accessdate=30 March 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.rischiocalcolato.it/2014/03/veneto-libero-indipendente-nato-in-europa-leuro-problema-italiano.html|title=Veneto Libero, Indipendente (nella Nato in Europa e con l'Euro.... Il Problema è lo STATO ITALIANO) - Rischio Calcolato|date=22 March 2014|publisher=|accessdate=30 March 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140322124151/http://www.rischiocalcolato.it/2014/03/veneto-libero-indipendente-nato-in-europa-leuro-problema-italiano.html|archive-date=22 March 2014|url-status=dead}} This was enough for Busato and his followers to proclaim Veneto's independence from Italy in Treviso on the night of 21 March.{{cite web|url=http://www.rainews.it/dl/rainews/articoli/referendum-indipendenza-veneto-due-milioni-a-favore-a827fd1d-99d4-4b23-836c-c653559cc797.html|title=Referendum indipendenza Veneto: 2 milioni di sì|publisher=|accessdate=30 March 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://corrieredelveneto.corriere.it/veneto/notizie/politica/2014/21-marzo-2014/referendum-19-milioni-votanti-questa-sera-tutti-piazza-treviso-2224246432447.shtml|title=In mille dichiarano l'indipendenza "Ora Zaia può solo inseguirci"|first=Marco|last=Bonet|date=21 March 2014|publisher=|accessdate=30 March 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10715888/Veneto-residents-support-leaving-Italy-in-unofficial-referendum.html|title=Veneto residents support leaving Italy in unofficial referendum|first=Tom Kington in|last=Rome|publisher=|accessdate=30 March 2017}} In the poll, ten "delegates for independence" were elected too: Busato was the most voted candidate with 135,306 preference votes.
He has recently opened a crypto company in Slovenia, named [http://www.enkronos.com Enkronos], launching several ICOs since 2018. They claim to have collected 12 million dollars, both from Venetian people and other speculators.