Dolce Vita with Berlusconi: Current Italian Politics

In the U.S., Republican and Democratic party politics receive little public attention unless an issue in Congress takes on unexpected significance, with contentious debate and TV talking heads developing an interest, or unless a Presidential election is in the offing. In other countries, political party gamesmanship is a never-ending background noise to daily life. Let's consider the case of Italy, a staunch U.S. ally with what is widely regarded as an unstable government.

In April of this year (2008) Silvio Berlusconi, the 71-year-old media titan and playboy billionaire, returned to run the country as prime minister for another 5-year term (he also held the post from 2001 to 2006 and from 1994 to 1995). The country also has a President (currently Giorgio Napolitano) but this post is largely ceremonial, with the real power held by the head of the most numerous party or coalition in the bicameral Parliament--the Prime Minister. The leading parties in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate are Berlusconi's People of Freedom and its coalition partners, the regionalist Northern League, the rightist National Alliance, and the tiny Autonomy Movement, with the opposition consisting of the Democratic Party led by Walter Veltroni, who lost to Berlusconi in the April election, and the Italian Values Party.

Coalition governments are notoriously disorganized, short-lived, and prone to fragmentation, but Italy's history boasts ones far messier than the current exemplar. Before the last voting opportunity, there were 26 political parties represented and not the mere six just noted above. Basically, the Italian situation seems to be moving closer to a two-party alignment reminiscent of the systems in the U.S. and Great Britain. Berlusconi's center-right group may be compared to the Republican or Conservative parties, while Veltroni's center-left assembly is closer to the Democratic or Labour parties. Some may call this progress or overdue modernization, but others predict a stifling of novel ideas and disregard for special interests.

Political stalemate in the previous government and a worsening economic status may account for Berlusconi's success in the recent referendum. However, questions about this consummate politician's motives for running for high office have already emerged. For one thing, he has been busy drafting legislation aimed at easing his own legal problems. Moreover, he has focused public attention on immigration and violent street crime as hot-button security issues. And, finally, he has promised lower taxes coupled with increased spending in a populist program which may well backfire, engendering ever higher deficits.

One recent action, the decision to begin fingerprinting gypsies and, most remarkably, gypsy children, has elicited protests from Catholic Church representatives. Others have even declared this measure to hint of the bad old days when dictator Mussolini sanctioned the rounding up of Jews. While some insist that calling up the specter of fascism is unwarranted, others say it is just more evidence of creeping conservatism. The new mayor of Rome, a job long held by leftists, is Gianni Alemanno, known as an adherent of the National Alliance, frequently described as a direct descendant of fascist political factions.

On another front, Berlusconi has appealed to nationalism by categorically positing that ailing airline Alitalia, a possible takeover target by another European carrier, should not leave Italian hands. Whether this plan is more than posturing on the local stage remains to be seen. Another promise, this one to boost the number of female legislators and cabinet ministers, is also suspected of being a spurious media ploy. As evidence of ingrained conservative attitudes, Berlusconi himself has been quoted as intoning that women do not want "to leave work and family and spend five days a week in Rome."

Somehow, looking at the political situation in Italy, puts a new perspective on our own noteworthy politicians, such as President George W. Bush and popular candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, who are not billionaires or playboys or moguls, are not (obviously) browbeating responsible people into overlooking legal improprieties (including bribery), are not expecting women to sit out the political process, and are not persecuting immigrant children, illegal or otherwise. Sure, there is mud-slinging in no-holds-barred American elections, but the media is not solely controlled by one of the interested parties, with the result that everyone gets a good share of criticism and even ridicule. While there are some minor parties and a large number of independents in the U.S., the two major parties provide big tents and can field plenty of people to run the country without resorting to short-term coalitions and unknown deals.

It's probably a good thing that such a big and powerful country as the U.S. has such a relatively stable government. Look at what others have to put up with!

Elisabetta Povoledo, "Politics in Italy: Still a man's world", International Herald Tribune Europe
Phil Stewart, "Insults, slurs as Italian politics turns angry," International Herald Tribune Europe/Reuters
Ian Fisher, "Economy ailing, frustrated Italy picks Berlusconi," International Herald Tribune Europe
Leonardo Clausi, "Silvio and Benito: spot the difference" The Guardian
"A brave Catholic magazine takes on Berlusconi," In All Things (blog), America Magazine