One to watch - 18/05/2009
Emmanuel Filiberto, Italy
By Amanda Morrow/RFI
The grandson of Italy's last king, Umberto II, will stand in north-west Italy which, poignantly, is the origins of his family.
Prince Emmanuel Filiberto of Savoy will run for the centrist Union of Christian Democrats party, whose leader, Lorenzo Cesa, is convinced will be elected to parliament. But this is not the prince's first foray into politics. Filiberto, 36, won just 0.4 percent of the vote when he contested last year's Italian parliamentary elections as head of the Values and Future movement.
His latest candidature has been described as a milestone in Italian history by the vice president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. And the prince himself, who says he faithful to the Italian republic, is proud of his connections.
"I know half of the current heads of state personally, and the other half I am related to," he told journalists, adding that he can also speak five languages.
Filiberto was born in exile in Geneva, and first went to Italy in 2003 after an entry ban was lifted on male members of the royal family.
Other candidates to watch:
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