Showing a breast in the parliament grounds, flshing a V sign and holding a
miniature doll image of herself, Cicciolina was on the campaign trail in The
Hague, although the theme was a bit blurry beyond her comment that she was
against a "too tame approach in Ducth politics". "We're giving a bit of
Dutch lessons tonight", said pinko TV presentators Gijs en Ruud van de Wint
with a wink. The "brothers" had invited Cicci to Holland, arguing that
"ex-porno stars are good for politics. And they are much needed here. We
have, dammit, a minister of Justice without humour. That Balkenende and
Donner can hardly laugh is their personal failure, but that they crank up a
public discussion about the importance of hard satire is very saddening. To
cheer them up and the The Hague circuit we have taken Ilona with us." On the
white chevrolet of Gijs Cicci wrote "Peace, Love, No War, Freedom Sex,
Against Terrorism' and then once more "No War". After an hour of protest,
Cicci returned to Amsterdam's Krasnapolsky hotel for a bit of beauty sleep,
"the secret of all models" she said. On Thursday night she had landed at
Schiphol airport in Amsterdam after an hour's delay. She sang a song for the
"Barend & Van Dorp" show, and was guest of honour at the 'Ex Porn Star'
event in Amsterdam (Kingdom Marcanti) sponsored by Chick magazine. The
Chevvy left again in the early hours of the morning spurting smoke and
leaving thick rubber marks.
Ilona Staller, alias Cicciolina ("cuddles"), is active in Italy's
libertarian Partito Radicale and a former porn star. Born November 26, 1951
in Budapest, her father was an official in the Ministry of the Interior, her
mother a midwife. She became a Hungarian model at the age of thirteen, and
achieved fame in Italy in the early 1970s with a radio show called "Radio
Luna" where she started calling herself Cicci. In 1978, on the TV show
"C'era due Volte" her breasts were the first to be seen bared on Italian TV.
In 1979, she was elected leading candidate of the "Lista del Sole", Italy's
first Green Party. In 1985 she switched to the Partito Radicale, campaigning
against nuclear energy, for human rights, and against starvation anywhere in
the world. She was elected to the Italian parliament in 1987, representing
the Lazio district of Rome. In 1989, Cicci offered Saddam Hussein to share a
bed with him in exchange for the release of hostages.
Staller married American sculptor Jeff Koons in 1991. Koons produced several
sculptures of Staller and him, some depicting them having sex. Jeff Koons,
the "most written-about artist in the world," is supposed to be an
avant-garde critical commentator in the tradition of the Dadaists. But
Koons' art is basically flat - no depth, all surface. An exaggerated
meaninglessness and banality, if nothing else, seems to be his most
important contribution to art. The marriage broke up in 1992, and their son
Ludwig was born shortly afterwards. Staller left the US with the child, and
a lengthy custody battle ensued. Koons won custody in 1998, but the son
remains with Staller in Italy. Cicci continues to advocate a safe future
without nuclear energy and with absolute sexual freedom, including the right
to sex in prisons. She is against all violence, including the death penalty
and the use of animals for fur, or scientific experimentation. She is for
decriminalizing, against censorship, for sex education in schools, and for
objective information about AIDS. She has proposed a tax on automobiles to
reduce the damages of smog and fund the defence of nature. In January 2002,
she stated her intention to campaign in Hungary, where she was born, to
represent Budapest's Kobanya district in the Hungarian parliament (with no
success). She now wants to be mayor of Monza in Northern Italy, and has
great plans for the city (including building a Casino, and, according to
Koons, a Disneyland), which has the special distinction of hosting the Grand
Prix race for Formula 1.
Jurriaan
