Born in
Viareggio in 1968, Toti grew up in
Massa Carrara where the family ran a hotel, and he has lived for many years with his family and parents in Bocca di Magra,
Ameglia, in the
province of La Spezia,
Liguria. He graduated in political science from the
University of Milan. He is married to the journalist
Siria Magri. During the 1980s he was a member of the youth wing of the
Italian Socialist Party, led at the time by
Bettino Craxi, Prime Minister from 1983 to 1987, later condemned for
corruption, in the trial
Mani Pulite. In 1991, he started working for
Studio Aperto, the news program of
Silvio Berlusconi's TV channel
Italia 1, of which he became director in 2010. In March 2012 Toti became also director of
Tg4, replacing the long-time one
Emilio Fede. In January 2014, Toti entered politics as a political counsellor of Berlusconi's party
Forza Italia. In the 2014 European elections, he was elected to the
European Parliament with 148,291 votes. On 1 April 2015, he presented his candidacy to become President of
Liguria in the
regional election of May at the head of the centre-right coalition composed of
Northern League,
Brothers of Italy,
New Centre-Right and Toti's party FI. After the election, Toti was elected President with 34.4% of votes, defeating the
Democratic candidate
Raffaella Paita. On 7 May 2024, Toti was placed under house arrest as part of investigations into corruption, particularly granting favors to local businessmen in
Genoa in exchange for financial support in local elections in 2021 and 2022. Toti resigned as governor in July 2024 and was released the following month. == References ==