perspectives, attended by the President of Italy; - a national law was proposed and approved that allocates 180 million euro per year for a total of 10 years to patients who have been infected (hepatitis, HIV) during hospital care; - a national law was proposed and approved to allocate dedicated funds in the national budget law for researchers under 40 in the biomedical field according to peer review criteria by an international committee - a dramatic innovation in the Italian research funds allocation system. Given his professional background, in his new capacity, he promoted several legislative activities mainly dealing with healthcare, education, scientific research, and bioethics. Following the fall of Romano Prodi's government and an early election held in 2008, he was confirmed in the Senate, where he was appointed whip of the Democratic Party in the Standing Committee on Health and Chair of the Investigative Committee on National Health System. In his second tenure as a Senator, Marino gained public exposure due to his strong support for the right to die and a clear advance health care directive law during the dramatic final days of Eluana Englaro, which caused widespread debate and a constitutional crisis within Italy. Following such events, Marino has become recognizable in Italian politics as a strong advocate of a lay country, gaining vocal support from left-wing parties and the Italian Radicals, but also being criticized by socially conservative politicians also within the Democratic Party, such as Paola Binetti. During his mandate, he has promoted: - a national study on quality assurance and outcomes of all major healthcare districts in Italy; - an investigation on the much-debated and controversial death of an inmate; - a national investigation on mental illnesses and psychiatric care; - a national investigation on severe disabilities and their treatments; - a national investigation on corruption in the National Health Care System; - a national investigation on hospitals built-in or near earthquake areas. In June 2009 he publicly announced his intention to run as a candidate for the Democratic Party leadership election in October. His leadership election platform was mostly focused on social rights, public health and environmentalism. He came third in the election, winning 12.5% of the votes. Mayor of Rome Marino ran the 2013 election for Mayor of Rome with the support of a centre-left alliance. After leading in the first round he was elected (on 10 June) Mayor of Rome