Sunday, December 07, 2008

Gov. Napolitano's Heritage, Elevation, Border Strategies Fascinate Italy

The ANNOTICO Report

The selection of  "Janet, the Italian Sheriff" - as the daily La Stampa  put it - to become the nation's next Homeland Security Secretary sparked interest and excitement in the country from which Napolitano's grandfather emigrated from in the early 1900s.

Italians are fascinated not only by Napolitano's cultural heritage but also by what they view as her innovative strategies as a border-state governor, hence the term "sheriff," "The general perception . . . is that she is in the first row facing illegal immigration," a hot-button issue here and there. "Her decision to work more to prevent the illegal immigration from inside Arizona (is) a strategy that is very similar (to) the one Italy is trying to apply."

See Timeline for Janet Napolitano below at bottom

Napolitano's Heritage, Border Strategies Fascinate Italy

The Arizona Republic

 by Andre F. Radzischewski 

December. 7, 2008

Janet Napolitano may be as familiar a face in Florence, Italy, as she is in Florence, Ariz.

The selection of "Janet, the Italian sheriff" - as the daily La Stampa  put it - to become the nation's next Homeland Security secretary sparked interest and excitement in the country from which Napolitano's grandfather emigrated from in the early 1900s.

Italians are fascinated not only by Napolitano's cultural heritage but also by what they view as her innovative strategies as a border-state governor, hence the term "sheriff," said Maurizio Molinari, the Torino-based newspaper's U.S. correspondent.

"The general perception . . . is that she is in the first row facing illegal immigration," a hot-button issue here and there, Molinari said.

"Her decision to work more to prevent the illegal immigration from inside Arizona (is) a strategy that is very similar (to) the one Italy is trying to apply."

As far as Italian-American celebrities go, the governor is as well-known in Italy as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, lagging only slightly behind former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Molinari said.

That may in part be due to her sharing the same last name with Italy's head of state, President Giorgio Napolitano.

"It's a kind of strange coincidence," Molinari said, given the name is spelled in a number of different varieties.

The namesakes even got to meet when Napolitano, the president, invited Napolitano, the governor, to the presidential Palazzo del Quirinale in Rome in September 2007.

The governor cherishes her Italian heritage, said Joseph Del Raso, executive vice president of the National Italian American Foundation and host of a 2007 reception the foundation held in honor of the then-chair of the National Governors Association.

"The Italian-American community has been very proud of her achievements," he said.

Knowing about the challenges Italians coming to the United States faced in past centuries may have given Napolitano a more nuanced understanding of immigration issues, Del Raso said.

The fascination with Napolitano in Italy, meanwhile, seems unique, particularly given neighboring Austrians' apparent lack of interest in their country's most famous emigrant, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"People didn't take (him) seriously for a long time," said Paul Zabloudil, foreign-policy editor of the Austria Press Agency.

If anything, Schwarzenegger sparked controversy because of his support for capital punishment and by calling Austria a "socialist" country, he said.

Italians, on the other hand, care very much about the likes of Giuliani and Napolitano because they perceive them as their countrymen, even though they live outside the borders of the Boot, La Stampa's Molinari said.

"The issue is the definition of national identity," he said. "For us, (it's) 'the people.' " And given that definition, Molinari predicts that while the governor's impending promotion could further boost coverage about her, Italians' interest in all things Napolitano will keep up no matter what.

"There is this kind of curiosity," he said, "that goes beyond politics."

 

Timeline: Gov. JANET NAPOLITANO

1957: Born in New York. She later moves to Albuquerque, where she grows up.

1979: Graduates summa cum laude with a degree in political science from the University of Santa Clara. 

1983: Receives her law degree from the University of Virginia. Becomes law clerk for Judge Mary Schroeder of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

1984: Joins the Phoenix law firm of Lewis and Roca.

1989: Becomes a partner in the firm, where she works as an appellate and commercial litigation attorney.

1993: Named by President Clinton as U.S. attorney for Arizona.

1998: Elected attorney general of Arizona.

2002: Elected governor; takes office in January 2003.

2005: Cited as one of the nation's top five governors by Time magazine.

2006: Named chairwoman of the National Governors' Association.

July 2007: Signs sweeping legislation against employers of undocumented workers, targeting the state's market for illegal labor with what she calls "the most aggressive action in the country." The law takes effect on Jan. 1, 2008, raising the stakes for more than a quarter-million undocumented workers believed to reside in Arizona and the businesses that employ them.

August 2007: A modest state-funded full-day kindergarten program that began in 2004 with nearly 11,000 students in Arizona's neediest schools takes flight statewide with an enrollment of about 86,000 schoolchildren. It marks the accomplishment of a goal nearly unmatched in the western United States: government-funded full-day kindergarten available to every child in the state.

January 2008: Napolitano becomes one of the first governors to endorse Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton for president.

 

 

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