Berlusconism and Italy. A Historical Interpretation

Introduction: The introduction places the book within the context of existing scholarship on Berlusconi, berlusconism, contemporary Italian politics and the international debate on populism and anti-politics. It describes the approach of the book and its originality: its focusing on the political content rather than the instruments of berlusconism; its use of long-term Italian history as a way to explain berlusconism; its attempt to see the world from the point of view of the Berlusconi voters. The introduction also briefly presents the following chapters. 1. Chapter 1 examines the “Italian question” over the long term, starting from the Risorgimento, looking particularly at the problem of the relationship between the state and the political elite on the one hand, and the country on the other. The chapter describes how, in its 150 year long quest for “modernity”, Italy has been shaped by a set of corrective and pedagogical political cultures – that is, cultures very different from one another, but all convinced that politics and public institutions were “better” than civil society and should correct it. As a norm, these cultures were insensitive to the problem of how to create good representative institutions, and much more interested in identifying a good political elite capable to implement the right corrective program. Although it can be argued that this approach bore positive fruits, the chapter focuses on its limits and failures, arguing that only by becoming aware of those limits and failures is it possible to understand berlusconism. The last section examines the relationship between Italian history and liberalism. 2. Chapter 2 explores the questions raised in Chapter 1 in relation to the post-1945, republican era, particularly the role of the political parties and the nature of public aversion to them and to politics in general, as well as the changing relationship between left and right during that period. It argues that antifascist political parties embodied a new version of the Italian corrective and pedagogical tradition. It describes the post-1945 opposition to this tradition, giving particular attention to the Uomo qualunque movement, and analyzing the intersections between the left/right cleavage and the party/anti-party and politics/anti-politics dichotomies. It identifies the early 1960s, with the birth of the new center-left governing majority, as a watershed in republican history, and describes the relationship between the 1960s and the 1980s. The 6th paragraph examines Italian communism so as to make Berlusconi’s anticommunism intelligible. The 7th and final paragraph summarizes the main arguments of the first two chapters and is intended as a short cut to the heart of berlusconism for readers who are less interested in its historical background. 3. Chapter 3, which is to some extent the core of the book, analyzes Berlusconi’s politics by focusing particularly, although not exclusively, on his public speeches. It attempts to describe the main features of berlusconism and identifies its relationship with the “deep-rooted” history of Italy described in the first two chapters. In particular, it argues that the kernel of Berlusconi’s political proposal consisted in an attempt to upturn the Italian corrective and pedagogical tradition described in Chapters 1 and 2. From this premise, three main elements of berlusconism follow: the desire for a minimal and “friendly” state; the desire for less ideological and more pragmatic politics – “hypo-politics” –; the proposal of a new political class coming straight from civil society, especially from among the entrepreneurs. The chapter also analyzes the relationship between berlusconism and post-1945 right wing traditions, and Berlusconi’s attempt to establish a majoritarian democracy in Italy. Finally, it also explores the extent to which berlusconism can be regarded as liberal, populist and/or anti-political, arguing that it was an “emulsion of right wing liberalism and populism”. 4. Chapter 4 discusses the Berlusconi electorate, using mostly second-hand research on electoral data and public opinion but interpreting its findings in a novel way. It first identifies who voted for Berlusconi, addressing an apparent paradox which existing scholarship fails to make sense of: that he was voted by both socially, culturally and politically “marginal” voters on the one hand, and dynamic and enterprising self-employed voters on the other. The chapter then examines how Berlusconi spoke to his electorate, arguing that leadership and television were surely important, but political content was crucial as well. The final paragraph draws Chapters 3 and 4 together, discarding the stereotype of the “average Italian” which has been too often used to explain Berlusconi’s electoral success, and defining the political supply and electoral demand of berlusconism in terms of the “politics of skepticism” – that is, arguing that Berlusconi’s success was due to his ability to politicize anti-politics. 5. Chapter 5 deals with the rise and fall of berlusconism, analyzing its different phases and the reasons for its relative failure. It argues that the elements described in Chapter 3 were present in their purest form at the beginning of berlusconism, in 1994, and charts the evolution of the phenomenon in terms of ideology, organization and political personnel from 1996 until 2008. It describes how the ideological emphasis moved from free-market liberalism to moderate conservatism, what attempts were done to shape berlusconism into a solid and vital party, and how these attempts failed because of the “inevitability” of Berlusconi himself. The chapter does not enter into details as to the activity of Berlusconi’s governments, yet it tries to explain the perceived failure of berlusconism as a governing force in terms of its internal contradictions and the vehemence of external opposition. Finally, it argues that 2005-2006 represents a major watershed for berlusconism, separating a future-oriented berlusconism rich in hopes and promises from a much more prudent berlusconism presenting itself to the voters as the least bad political option in comparison with the center-left. Epilogue: The Epilogue briefly describes events from Berlusconi’s fall from government in late 2011, to the 2013 elections, to his being found guilty by Italy’s court of last instance and being excluded from parliament in the second half of 2013. It explains the reasons for Berlusconi’s unexpectedly good performance in the 2013 elections, and briefly compares berlusconism with two other relevant phenomena of that election: Mario Monti’s Civic Choice and Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement. The epilogue also demonstrates how events of 2013 lend further credibility to the arguments put forward in the preceding chapters. It finally draws some tentative conclusions regarding the legacy of Berlusconi and its lesson for Italy.