Qualunquemente

It’s not hard to figure out Cetto La Qualunque. He wants to have it all and to hell with the consequences. Cetto is the kind of man who will stop at nothing and it’s sometimes wise to keep a low profile. He describes himself as a ‘businessman’, a profession he practices without a shred of scruples, in a manner that is thoroughly corrupt and ignorant. He was born in Calabria where ideas such as democracy and the environment are sneered at. After a prolonged holiday – for this is the official explanation for his absence of many months – Cetto returns to his home town. But he is not alone. His new girlfriend and her daughter, whose name he cannot for the life of him remember, accompany the debonair head of the household. Among those living here are Carmen, Cetto’s long-suffering wife, and the entrepreneur’s disappointing son. Cetto has been away far too long and he is incredulous to find that a new law-abiding approach now prevails – and this is not at all good for business. Fortunately, he has returned to his home town in the nick of time. Giovanni De Santis, a tireless civil rights activist with the gift of the gab, is about to run for office as mayor. After some serious soul-searching in the informed company of beautiful women, Cetto La Qualunque comes to the conclusion that the time has come for him to repay his town for all the support he has received over the years. And so our businessman decides to enter politics; he sees it as his duty to avert disaster, namely, the election of a squeaky clean democrat as mayor.
The character of Cetto La Qualunque is based on a figure in the television series NON C’È PROBLEMA (NO PROBLEM), created by Antonio Albanese in 2003 for Italian broadcaster RAI.