It’s a tale of two houses. Borghese: the ancient Sienese family that came to Rome and augmented its wealth and power, eventually gaining the papacy. Savoy: the disgraced Sardinians who stole the Pope’s kingdom and have lately been better known for criminal connections. But the scions of both dynasties found something in common during the recent Italian parliamentary election: they were both candidates.
Princess Alessandra Borghese, to use the words printed in The Economist, “is no ordinary parliamentary candidate”. She is well-known as a close friend of the Pope, attends the annual Lourdes pilgrimage with the Order of Malta, and is an ardent defender of Christian social values. Speaking on religious instruction in schools, the Princess is adamant: “To know the history of Christianity, to know Jesus Christ does not nullify us, but enriches us. […] What are we to do when confronted with young Muslims and those of other religions if we don’t know our culture, our identity?”
In this recent election, Princess Alessandra headed up the Rome & Lazio list of Senate candidates for Pier Ferdinando Casini’s Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC). “The UDC,” the Princess said, “is the only party the openly calls for the social doctrine of the Church and allows Christians like me not to submit to rejection.” This loyal daughter of the Church supports a party firmly in the Christian-democratic tradition enunciated by Pope Leo XIII and his successors.
But just as there are loyal daughters, there are wayward sons. Prince Emmanuel Filiberto is the grandson of the last King of Italy and son of the disgraced Crown Prince Victor Emmanuel famous for punching his third-cousin the Duke of Aosta in 2004, and arrested in 2006 for corruption and recruitment of prostitutes but never charged. Emmanuel Filiberto enraged Italian monarchists by marrying a French actress an ardent socialist who was already six months’ pregnant with their child on the day of the wedding.
Now, however, the Prince is seeking to turn around the bad reputation of the House of Savoy. Emmanuel Filiberto recently founded a political party named Future e Valori — “Future and Values” and ran for the Italian parliament on his self-made ticket. The prince supported his father’s legal bid seeking $380 million in reparations from the Italian Republic that replaced the Savoy monarchy, but now says he “isn’t asking for a single lira from Italy” but instead seeks to serve his country.
Alas, neither the loyal daughter and the wayward son won enough votes to win a seat in parliament. Alessandra Borghese will no doubt continue her various charitable and cultural efforts, but it is unknown at the moment whether Emmanuel Filiberto will seek to keep his personal political party going.