post-1994 italian politics and berlusconism is in continuity with the first republic

1. Post- 1994 Italian politics and
Berlusconism in continuity with
the republican history
(1948-1992)
A CURA DI :
ARIANNA DOTTORI , ELEONORA LA POSTA
E ANNA LISA PANTUSA

2. OUTLINE
• Connecting the
two Republics:
political common
features
1
2
• Is Berlusconism a
new political
brand?
• Berlusconi takes the
field: compromise or
conflict?
• AN: not yet
3

3. Connecting the two Republics:
political common features
BERLUSCONISM
The «same old story»
Berlusconi’s counts
Political and social structural cleavages
North-South
 Conservatism
Interistitutional dynamics
 Party systemrenewed
 Laws issued
FIRST REPUBLIC
 «mani pulite» («clean hands»)
Center-periphery
 Lay/catholic issue
 Proportional logics
 Laws issued

4. Is Berlusconism a new political brand?
BERLUSCONISM
Spectacularization and
personalization of politics
The “platonic” question and
insensibility to institutional
reforms
New man?
FIRST REPUBLIC
Political debate brought on TV.
Leaders fight in first person in
the political arena
 Identification of the best kind
of leadership = Partito degli
Eletti. Reforms as secondary
issue
 Professional politicians

5. Berlusconi takes the field: compromise
or conflict?
Anticommunism out of the
game?
The imperfect
bipartitism/bipolarism
Filling the electoral vacuum
 Cold War scenario: the red threat
invoked during the First Republic
 Berlusconi: communism in over, not
yet the communists
 The First Republic: DC-PCI but
conventio ad excludendum
 Berlusconism: Ipopolitics-Iperpolitics
and the mutual delegitimation
process
 The DC gathering the disappointed
right wing supporters
 Berlusconi occupies the empty space
left by the partitocrazia

6. AN: not yet
The Fiuggi documents: an ambiguous
relation with the past
New party, old values: nation, spirituality,
public order, liberty and authority
Institutional redesign through
presidentialism
The Adriatic policy: for the «Italianness»
of Istria and Dalmatia

7. THANKS FOR YOUR AT T ENT ION