Political activity
His political activity began in the ranks of the Republican Party,when at 21 he entered the municipal council of Gifflenga,of which he would be part from 1975 to 1980;then between 1985 and 1994,he was vice mayor of Biella under the Christian Democrats Luigi Squillario,Luigi Petrini,and Gianluca Susta,as well as councilor with powers of sport,tourism,transport and toponymy until 1992,and later with those for urban planning and private construction. [6] [7]
With the descent into politics of Silvio Berlusconi,he joined Forza Italia, [8] where in the regional elections in Piedmont in 1995,he ranks among his lists,in the motion of the Forza Italia representative Enzo Ghigo (former executive of the Publitalia-Fininvest group),being elected in the district of Biella in the Regional Council of Piedmont,later becoming president of the 1st Commission. [9] Two years later,he was appointed councilor with regional powers for industry,crafts,and trade in the regional council of Enzo Ghigo. [10] His positions were confirmed in 2000 in the second regional council of Ghigo,while in 2005,he remained in the opposition following the victory of the center-left coalition The Union in the regional election. [11]
Vice-president of the Piedmont Region
On 3 April 2013,Pichetto Fratin was appointed by Roberto Cota as the new vice president of the Piedmont Region,obtaining the powers of finance,economic-financial planning,assets,legal,and litigation,as well as maintaining the leadership of the Budget Department,thus taking over from Ugo Cavallera,councilor for labor and social policies,resigned after having received the delegations to health from Cota. [14] [15]
On 16 November 2013,with the suspension of the activities of the People of Freedom,he joined the rebirth of Forza Italia,being appointed as regional coordinator in Piedmont by President Silvio Berlusconi on 4 January 2014. [16] [17]
Race to the Presidency of the Piedmont Region
After the cancellation of the TAR of the 2010 Piedmontese regional election,and the consequent loss of Roberto Cota as president, [18] Pichetto Fratin was chosen by Forza Italia,strongly supported by Silvio Berlusconi and announced by his regional vice-coordinator in Piedmont Osvaldo Napoli,as candidate to the presidency of the Piedmont Region for the center-right coalition in view of the 2014 regional election. [19] [20] However,the acceptance of his candidacy is not unanimous: [21] Brothers of Italy,who wanted to hold the coalition primary,chose in fact to support the former undersecretary of defense Guido Crosetto for the presidency,while the New Center-Right and the UdC,also for the primaries,focus on the new deputy minister of justice of the Renzi government Enrico Costa. [22]
At the electoral round Pichetto Fratin is defeated,obtaining 22.09% of the votes compared to more than double (47.09%) of the former mayor of Turin Sergio Chiamparino (supported by the PD and the center-left),but manages to overcome the other candidates (Davide Bono of the 5 Star Movement,Crosetto,Costa and Mauro Filingeri for L'Altro Piemonte on the Left),obtains the seat in the regional council that is reserved for him as candidate for second place president. [23] [24]
Return to the Senate
In the 2018 general election,he again became the senatoral candidate in the single-member district of Vercelli,for the center-right coalition in the Forza Italia,where he was re-elected senator with 46.97% of the votes against the candidate of the 5 Star Movement Ezio Conti (23.82%) and of the center-left,Democratic Party,Cristina Bargero (22.63%). [25]
On 18 October 2018,he was commissioned and replaced for the coordination of Forza Italia in Piedmont by the new representative Paolo Zangrillo,after the modest result obtained by the party at the election of the year. [26]
In December 2019,he was among the 64 signatories (41 of which from Forza Italia) for the confirmatory referendum on the cut of lawmakers:a few months earlier the Berlusconian senators had deserted the classroom on the occasion of the vote on the constitutional reform.
In 2020,he became leader of Forza Italia in the 5th Budget Commission of the Senate and National Head of the Finance and Budget Department of Forza Italia. [27]
On 25 February 2021,he was indicated as Deputy Minister of Economic Development in the Draghi government,appointed by the Council of Ministers on 1 March,and alongside the League's minister Giancarlo Giorgetti. [28] [29] On 15 April,by decree of the President of the Republic,he was awarded the title of Deputy Minister. As deputy minister of economic development,he coordinated the automotive table,and followed the difficult drafting of the competition bill. [30]
