Italy's first transgender mayor says 'kindness revolution' can defeat far right

Italy’s first transgender mayor has said the “arrogant and oppressive” politics of the far right would sooner or later be overcome by a “kindness revolution”.

Gianmarco Negri, a 40-year-old lawyer, was elected mayor of Tromello, a small town south of Milan, last week. Capturing 37.5% of the vote, his leftwing platform scored him a clear victory over the candidate for the far-right League, who came second with 26%.

The town of 3,700 people backed Negri even though their loyalties mostly lie with Matteo Salvini’s League, which governs nationally alongside the Five Star Movement.

“It’s absolutely going against the current wave in Italy to have been chosen as mayor,” Negri said. “In this respect, the victory, and the fact that we got quite a high result, sends out a very important message. The League, a party that subscribes to certain positions regarding society’s most fragile groups, won 53% in the European elections, but at the administrative level it was rejected. It’s even more important that this happened in a small provincial town, where it’s more difficult to live in a freer way.”

Negri campaigned under the slogan “CambiaMenti per Tromello”, which has the double meaning of “Changes for Tromello” or “Changing Minds for Tromello”.

“The difference was in the team, the election wasn’t just won by Gianmarco Negri,” he said. “We are a group of people who are very much involved in the community, we have a close relationship with the town and people.”

Negri, an activist for transgender rights who was born in Tremello as Maria, began to gender transition a few years ago.

“I had to take a leap of faith for my own wellbeing and equilibrium,” he said. “Being from a small town, where most people come from traditional families, I was afraid of the discrimination, but then I said to myself, ‘I know these people and if they love me now, then why should that change?’”

He said people responded well, giving him “the foundations on which I was able to express myself”.

“The big applause goes to my co-citizens, who have demonstrated that the important thing is to be able to speak without fear and not hiding or being ashamed of oneself.”

Negri said he wanted to “revive” Tremello, a town which, like many others, has seen shops and businesses close in recent years and young talent leave for Milan and beyond.

Negri may be Italy’s first transgender mayor, but it is not the first time a transgender person has entered the political system: in 2006 Vladimir Luxuria, a gay rights campaigner and actor, was elected as a parliamentarian.

Italy began recognising same-sex civil unions in 2016, when it was led by the centre-left Democratic party, but the country always fares badly in surveys on LGBT rights. The League is against gay marriage, with Salvini often saying families must consist of “a mum and dad”.