Albanese declines offer of ‘honorary citizenship' from father's Italian hometown
The symbolic honour was proposed by Barletta's mayor, Cosimo Cannito, following Albanese's stunning re-election to a second term earlier this month. Cannito described the prime minister's political journey as a source of immense pride for the southern Italian city of Pulgia.
'It is the success story of a man who, starting from the other side of the world, was able to find his origins and now proudly claims them,' he told local media last week, while inviting the prime minister to visit. 'And this makes the whole community of my city proud to have him at the helm of a great country such as Australia.'
But government sources confirmed this week that Albanese was unlikely to accept the honorary title while serving in parliament. The message has been diplomatically relayed to the regional city council.
'This is a kind and generous offer meant in the spirit of friendship between our two nations,' a source close to Albanese, not authorised to speak on the record, said.
A separate diplomatic source, also not authorised to speak on the record, said it would avoid any potential implications under Section 44 of the Constitution, which prohibits federal MPs from holding allegiance, obedience or entitlement to the rights or privileges of a foreign power.
Albanese is scheduled to travel to Rome this weekend – his first official trip to Italy since taking office – to attend the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV, alongside other world leaders. The same source said a visit to Barletta – about four hours from Rome – was not scheduled during this trip.
While honorary citizenship is typically symbolic and does not automatically confer legal nationality, legal experts have warned that even such gestures could raise constitutional red flags.
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