Draft:Luca Bernardo
Italian paediatrician and politician (born 1967)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Luca Bernardo (born 3 August 1967) is an Italian paediatrician and politician. He serves as a member of the City Council of Milan and, since April 2024, as leader of the Forza Italia group at Palazzo Marino. He was the centre-right candidate for Mayor of Milan in the 2021 Milan municipal election, losing to incumbent Giuseppe Sala by a margin of roughly 26 percentage points.
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Luca Bernardo | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 3, 1967 Milan, Italy |
| Party | Forza Italia |
| Other political affiliations | Independent (2021–2024) |
| Spouse | Francesca |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Maurizio Bernardo (brother) |
| Alma mater | University of Milan |
| Occupation | Paediatrician, politician |
| Website | lucabernardo |
In his medical career, Bernardo has directed the Paediatric Department of the ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco hospital in Milan since 2005 and is widely credited as one of the first clinicians in Italy to develop a dedicated centre for adolescent victims of cyberbullying.
Early life and education
Bernardo was born in Milan on 3 August 1967 into a family of Sicilian origin; his father worked as an accountant and his mother as an interior architect.[1] He studied medicine at the University of Milan (Università degli Studi di Milano), graduating cum laude in 1994. He subsequently completed a postgraduate specialisation in paediatrics, also awarded cum laude, in 1998, and later qualified in neonatology and neonatal pathology.[2]
Between 1996 and 1997 he undertook a research placement in neonatal pathology at Cornell University in New York, and also spent time at Miami Children's Hospital.[3][4]
Medical career
Bernardo returned to Milan in 1997 to take up his first hospital post as a first-level medical officer (dirigente medico di I livello) in the paediatric clinic of the Ospedale San Paolo, where he remained until 2005. During that period he held several concurrent roles, including deputy director of the neonatology and neonatal pathology unit, director of the paediatric emergency department, and coordinator of the paediatric and neonatal areas in two regional programmes: the DAMA project (Disabled Advanced Medical Assistance) for patients with disabilities, and a listening centre for immigrant women.[3][5]
In 2005 he moved to the Ospedale Fatebenefratelli e Oftalmico, part of what is now the ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco, where he was appointed director of the complex paediatric structure and of the Maternal and Child Department. From 2010 he also served as acting director of the neonatology and neonatal intensive care unit at the Macedonio Melloni hospital, a role he held until 2021.[6] Since May 2022 he has additionally held an interim directorship of the Regional Centre for Epilepsy (CREI) at the same site.[3]
Centre for Adolescent Distress and cyberbullying
In 2008 Bernardo founded the Centro Disagio Adolescenziale (Centre for Adolescent Distress) at the Fatebenefratelli, which he has described as the first unit in Italy dedicated specifically to the consequences of bullying and, later, cyberbullying on young people.[7] The centre broadened its remit over time to cover a range of issues affecting adolescents, including alcohol and substance misuse and suicidal behaviour.[6] Bernardo also directs the Regional Centre for Infant Nutrition (for the prevention of adult-onset disease) and the Human Milk Bank, both located at the Macedonio Melloni hospital.[4]
He has served as a contract professor in the paediatric specialisation school at the University of Milan since the 2001–2002 academic year,[5] and is enrolled in the Italian Order of Journalists, having contributed regularly to periodicals and to the daily newspaper Libero.[2]
Institutional advisory roles
In 2017 Bernardo was invited by the then-president of Italy's National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC), Raffaele Cantone, to join the authority as an expert in healthcare matters.[8] He has also acted as an adviser to the Ministry of Education (MIUR), as a consultant to the government commissioner for missing persons (with particular reference to missing minors), and as a consultant to the commissioner coordinating solidarity initiatives for victims of mafia and organised crime.[3] Since January 2023 he has been a member of the European Parliament's Technical and Scientific Committee.[3]
Bernardo was awarded the honour of Knight (Cavaliere) and subsequently Commander (Commendatore) of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. He received the Ambrogino d'Oro Militare from the Municipality of Milan, as well as the municipal award "La salute a Milano è un impegno in Comune". In 2021 he was admitted as an honorary member of the National Association of Carabinieri.[3]
Political career
Early involvement (2006)
Bernardo's first foray into electoral politics came in 2006, when he stood as a candidate for the City Council of Milan on the civic list supporting centre-right mayoral candidate Letizia Moratti. He received approximately 200 preference votes and was not elected.[9]
2021 mayoral candidacy
After a prolonged and at times fractious selection process within the centre-right coalition—during which a number of other names were considered and declined—Bernardo was confirmed as the coalition's candidate for Mayor of Milan on 6 July 2021, following a summit in Rome involving Lega, Fratelli d'Italia and Forza Italia.[8] He was backed by five lists: Lega per Salvini Premier, Fratelli d'Italia, Forza Italia, a personal civic list ("Luca Bernardo Sindaco"), and Maurizio Lupi's Milano Popolare.[10]
The campaign was not without incident. In September 2021 an audio message Bernardo had sent privately to the coalition's party secretaries was leaked to the press, in which he threatened to withdraw his candidacy unless each party contributed fifty thousand euros to the campaign fund.[10] Bernardo acknowledged the recording was genuine but disputed its context, suggesting the private chat may have been accessed by a third party, and maintained he had never seriously intended to quit.[10] During the same period, a regional councillor and fellow paediatrician, Michele Usuelli of +Europa, accused Bernardo of carrying a firearm within the hospital during patient rounds. Bernardo confirmed that he holds a carry permit and that he had entered the hospital building armed on occasions when he stayed overnight, but denied ever having the weapon about him during clinical work or in the presence of patients.[11]
The election was held on 3 and 4 October 2021. Incumbent mayor Giuseppe Sala, standing for re-election, won outright in the first round with 57.73% of the vote—the first time a centre-left candidate had won Milan without a run-off. Bernardo obtained 31.97% (153,637 votes), well below the threshold needed to force a second round.[12] Voter turnout fell to 47.69%, the lowest ever recorded in a Milan municipal election.[13] Post-election analysis suggested that Bernardo had underperformed particularly among younger voters and among the moderate electorate, which was largely captured by Sala.[14]
Following the result, Bernardo announced he would remain in public life by taking his seat on the City Council, while continuing his hospital duties.[15]
City Council and Forza Italia group leadership (2021–present)
Bernardo entered the City Council as an independent, sitting separately from any party group. In April 2024 he joined the Forza Italia group in the council and was named its leader (capogruppo), a move that prompted the departure of the previous group leader, Alessandro De Chirico, who quit the group—though not the party—in protest at the manner of the handover.[16] Bernardo has described his approach in the council as one of "constructive opposition".[16]
In 2023 he participated, in his capacity as a city councillor, in the fiftieth anniversary celebrations of the institutional relationship between Milan and Chicago, organised by the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans (JCCIA).[3]
Personal life
Bernardo is married to Francesca and has a daughter, Lucrezia, who studied law at university.[11] He is a brother of Maurizio Bernardo, a former member of the Chamber of Deputies who served with Forza Italia, the New Centre-Right and Popular Alternative before joining the Democratic Party ahead of the 2018 Italian general election.[9]