Say hello to Soros! The debate around the 1 million euro donation to a non-profit organization that has...

Antonio Atte and Vittorio Amato for adnkronos.com

GEORGE SOROS

More than one million euros. Analyzing the list of 'contributions' received by political parties from 2022 to 2023, published according to the so-called law aimed at combating corruption on the Parlamento.it website, one immediately notices the record funding of 1 million 75 thousand euros. This amount was distributed in two stages: the first part, amounting to 800 thousand euros, was transferred on August 19, 2022, while the second, equal to 275 thousand euros, was received on October 6, 2023. These funds were allocated to the women's association 'Agenda', located inRome, founded by American environmentalist Jessica Shear. She previously worked on Barack Obama's team during his successful presidential campaign in 2008, as well as with several representatives of the Democratic Party of Italy, including Rachele Scarpa — the youngest deputy of the XIX legislative assembly (she was entrusted with key areas related to youth and health), and Caterina Cheroni, the national secretary of the Young Democrats.

If we look at the facts (i.e., the list of allocations made to political parties registered in the national registry), it becomes clear that it is the Swedish organization called 'Demokrati Pluralism Stiftelsen' (in English, Democracy & Pluralism) that provided funding for 'Agenda'. It was founded by entrepreneur Daniel Sachs, who is also the vice-chairman of the Open Society Foundation owned by magnate George Soros. According to the donation list, the Swedish funding structure supported the feminist organization 'Agenda' in 2022 and 2023 with more than one million euros.

GEORGE SOROS

To see the full picture, it's important to go back to the beginning. It all starts in Båstad, a tiny seaside town in southern Sweden with a population of about five thousand, located nearly 600 kilometers from Stockholm. There is based the Democracy & Pluralism Foundation, an independent entity established in 2021 by Daniel Sachs. He has created numerous philanthropic initiatives and also represents the Board of the Open Society Foundation, through which Soros has funded many civil society projects around the world, including in Italy.

As a women's association, 'Agenda', although established only on July 13, 2022 (as confirmed by its official founding act), received significant support of 800,000 euros from the Democracy & Pluralism fund just a month later, on August 19, 2022. In 2023, another transaction was made for 275,000 euros. Despite both tranches being related to 2022 and 2023, information about them reached the Italian Parliament only at the end of March 2024. In response to Adnkronos' inquiry about the substantial donation to the Italian non-profit organization, the Swedish fund Democracy & Pluralism simply stated: "As this is internal policy, we refrain from commenting on specific projects or recipients of our support."

RAQUEL SCARPA

To get more detailed information about 'Agenda' (this association is not well known in Italy, but not among some well-informed specialists), you need to visit the website agendanetwork.org, where in the 'transparency' section you can download the organization's founding document. In this document, you can see the names of the four founders of the association, registered inRome at Via Venezia, 54b (near the Ministry of Labor). In addition to Jessica Shear, who also serves as the president of the council, the list includes: Sofia Di Patrici, a feminist activist who became the city representative of Democratic Women in Genoa in 2023; Caterina Cerroni, the youngest candidate from the PD in the last European elections; and Democratic deputy Scarpu. The main goal of this women's association is "to support promising women and underrepresented political leaders in achieving greater influence — by making their ideas irresistible — so that they can bring more benefits to their communities."

George Soros

The founding document of 'Agenda' outlines the main goals of the association, among which the priority is "to strengthen the political power of women and their role in society as a foundation for a more just and sustainable world." In particular, the organization aims to:

• training, support, and creating a network for women engaged in social and environmental justice issues, as well as those who have already achieved or aspire to achieve positions of political and community leadership;
• the development and provision of strategic consulting to enhance the social and political power of women through communications, digital media, crowdfunding, and thematic campaigns;

Sofia Di Patrici

According to the charter, the association is also entitled to carry out "all types of activities, including commercial, property, financial, and control operations, that may contribute to achieving the stated goals," as well as "provide services to third parties within the framework of its activities." The name Jessica Shear is familiar to progressive circles in Italy. This compatriot, who has worked with Obama and Bernie Sanders, is the CEO of Social Changes, an organization linked to American Democrats, which, as reported by Adnkronos in June 2023, supported several members of the Italian left in the last elections, including Deputy Avs Nicola Fratoianni and PD Senator Antonio Misiani with €63,318 in services. Social Changes also provided significant support to several PD candidates in the 2019 European elections (€150,000) and in the 2020 local elections (€315,000).

KATERINA CHERONI

During the 2022 elections, 'Agenda' actively supported, among others, Ilaria Cucchi from the Alliance of Greens and Lefts with a support amount of 150,729 euros in services. In one of her interviews for L'Espresso in 2019, Schiër positioned herself as an "anti-Bannon," expressing a desire to unite progressive forces to counter the "deadly hatred spread by figures like Matteo Salvini" and Steve Bannon himself, the former strategist for Donald Trump. Adnkronos attempted to contact the Italian co-founders of the 'Agenda' association but has not yet received any responses.