Massimiliano Santini for European Parliament 2019

A new way forward
Massimiliano (“Massi”) Santini is from Modena, Italy, and he is running for the European Parliament because he loves his country, he sees our people struggling, and he believes Italy can and must do better.

Italy’s economy has been stagnant for more than a decade, standards of living have fallen, inequalities have risen, and safety and security have deteriorated. The northeast region of Italy that Massi seeks to represent has historically been Italy’s engine of social and economic prosperity. However, in the last two generations it has grown rusty, and now, for the first time, many people worry that that their kids will have a more difficult life than they had. They feel the social contract with the state has been broken and that Europe is more of a threat than an opportunity. People are losing faith in the political and economic institutions that have allowed Italy to thrive and have been the bedrock of prosperous, liberal democracies across the western world. Increasingly, they are turning to populist demagogues who have little regard for the values or the legal, political, and economic institutions that created this prosperity. This threatens the very fabric of our society and economy, not just in Italy, but across the world.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Massi spent years abroad studying and working at some of the most respected academic, financial, and political institutions in the world and, for more than ten years, helped policymakers around the world implement policies that would allow their economies and societies to thrive. During this time, his love for Italy only grew stronger and his purpose clearer: to learn as much as he could and bring it home to his people to make their lives better. Now, he has that chance.

Massi’s platform is simple: Security and Opportunity. He will fight for policies that create a more dynamic business environment and fairer society at home while also seeking a more balanced relationship with the EU - one that maximizes its positive role as an honest broker, unlocks our economic potential, strengthens our physical and social security, and protects our planet.

Social security and mobility
Our current social security system does not prevent us from falling on hard times. Instead it tries to pick up the pieces after we have fallen. We need policies that invest in people before they are even born and that insure us against hard times before they happen. Massi will fight for investment in childcare and parental leave - as France and Sweden have done successfully - so that either parent may choose to work, knowing their children are safe and well cared for. Because our schools and students are falling behind the rest of the world, Massi will fight for investment in education, especially in the early years where it matters the most - as they have done in Finland and Singapore - so that our children are prepared for the future. Because every citizen deserves the chance to earn a livable wage and a dignified retirement, Massi will fight to protect hard-earned pensions and for higher education and job training programs that prepare and retrain workers for high tech and clean energy jobs of the future, looking to Denmark or Austria as models.
 
Economic and climate security
Because there are not enough jobs (nor businesses to create them), Massi will fight to streamline burdensome regulations that have stifled our entrepreneurial spirit while also pushing for fairer taxation and simpler rules whereby all businesses have to “play fair and pay their share”. Some dislike the EU because they impose austerity on us, but, by the same token, they can also be an honest broker to ensure that our businesses compete fairly, thus allowing all of them to thrive and create more jobs. Of course, none of this will matter if we do not avert the impending climate crisis. Climate change is the greatest threat of our lifetime and the greatest opportunity to reinvent ourselves and grow more equitably and sustainably. Massi will fight for clean energy that powers the industry and jobs of the future and for a clean, modern transportation system to connect us to each other and to our partners in Europe. If we can build the best sports cars and motorcycles in the world, then we can build the best electric cars too.
 
Personal safety and security
Crime and terrorism are real. We must to be able to protect our children and trust our neighbors. We want to welcome migrants for the economic dynamism and cultural diversity that they bring and help them assimilate easily. Massi will fight for an immigration system that respects human dignity, that is fair to both the immigrants and the communities who receive them, and that distributes the burden evenly across our communities. He will fight for our forgotten communities, where graffiti, potholes, and missing streetlights are evidence of neglect. Because the threat of terrorism also looms large, he will also fight for responsible data sharing between European police forces, so that data can cross borders but crime does not.
 
Someone new, someone better, for our future
Massi does not come from a well-known family of money or privilege with “inside connections”. He grew up in Italy but is a complete political outsider. He worked hard to become one of the better trained economists in the world and was invited to join the ticket of the progressive center-left “Partito Democratico” because they believe he has what Italy needs: intelligence and passion, global experience and personal integrity, deep roots in the past and an eye on the future. When forced to choose, Massi chose his country over his career and left his job in order to enter this race, using all of his personal savings and zero money from special interests. He took a leap of faith because he believes in his people, he believes there is no higher calling than public service, and he believes he can bring bold, effective, new ideas to Italy and to the EU.
 
Now it is time for us to believe in Massi. Let’s come together and help him build a more secure and prosperous Italy, an Italy whose future will be as glorious as its past, an Italy that sees the rest of Europe not as a threat but as an opportunity, an Italy that believes in itself once again.

Thank you!

In solidarity,

Team  Massi

https://massimilianosantini.it/