Costa began his political career within the ranks of
Italian Liberal Party (PLI) in 1990. From 1993 to 1998, he was a member of the
Union of the Centre until he joined
Forza Italia. In 2004, Costa was
municipal councillor of Forza Italia in
Isasca. On 16 May 2005, he was elected regional councillor of Piedmont. Elected deputy to the
Chamber of Deputies in 2006 on the Forza Italia list in the
Piedmont 2 constituency. During his first term as deputy, Costa became a member of the Parliamentary Commission for the simplification of legislation. Re-elected in 2008 in the lists of
The People of Freedom (PdL), he was chairman of the PDL in the Justice Commission in the Chamber and a member of the Committee for the Authorizations to proceed at
Montecitorio and of the Constitutional Affairs Commission. In the Justice Commission, he was speaker for the Government of much discussed rules such as the
Lodo Alfano, which blocked the judicial processes against the four highest offices of the State (later repealed by the Constitutional Court), and the legitimate impediment, which provided for the suspension judicial processes against the Prime Minister and the Ministers up to the maintenance of the elected office. A provincial coordinator of the PDL in
Cuneo, he was appointed regional coordinator of the PDL in Piedmont in January 2013. Re-elected deputy in February 2013 on the PDL list, Costa became vice president of the Council for the Authorizations to proceed of the Chamber and a member of the Justice Commission. On 18 November 2013, with the return of the PdL to the name of
Forza Italia, he joined the
New Centre-Right (NCD) led by
Angelino Alfano, being elected group chairman in the Chamber of Deputies and Regional Coordinator of the party in Piedmont. On 28 February 2014, he became Deputy Minister of Justice in the
Renzi government, thus leaving the position of group leader and being replaced by
Nunzia De Girolamo. In the
2014 Piedmontese regional election, Costa was a candidate for the presidency of the region for the NCD, getting 2.98% of the vote. On 28 January 2016, he became Minister for Regional Affairs and Autonomies, succeeding
Maria Carmela Lanzetta (exactly one year after her resignation). In addition to the powers of his department, Prime Minister
Matteo Renzi entrusted him with responsibilities in matters of family policies. He was reconfirmed as minister with the same powers, also in the executive headed by
Paolo Gentiloni. On 19 July 2017, Costa resigned from his post as minister in disagreement with some measures proposed by the
Council of Ministers to which he was part. On the same day, he decided to leave
Popular Alternative (AP) but
Silvio Berlusconi locked the doors of Forza Italia to Costa and others, suggesting that they give life to a new centrist formation. On 19 December, he joined
Us with Italy (NcI), the "fourth leg" of the
centre-right coalition. Re-elected in 2018 as a deputy in the
single-member district of
Alba, Piedmont, obtaining 48.24% of the votes. On 19 April 2018, he left NcI and returned to Forza Italia. On 4 August 2020, he announced his move to
Action, the liberal-reformist party founded and led by
Carlo Calenda. In 2024, he left Action and returned to Forza Italia. == References ==