A week after the vote ... The Italian anomaly A week after the vote, we assess the situation, considering and interpreting the main factors identified by the outcome of the polls.
1) The clear victory of the People of Freedom party, namely the National Alliance + Forza Italy, the latest marketing operation of Silvio Berlusconi, leader of this cartel election.
The party with the League Nord di Umberto Bossi ha ottenuto oltre 17 milioni di voti alla Camera. Circa 3 milioni e mezzo in più dell'alleanza Pd e IdV, che sosteneva Veltroni. Una interpretazione di questo risultato, che condividiamo pienamente, è quella fornita da Ezio Mauro, nel suo editoriale pubblicato su Repubblica il 16 Aprile. Egli scrive: Cos'è questa capacità (di Berlusconi) di mordere nel profondo del Paese, e di tenerlo in pugno? In un'Italia che non ha mai nemmeno rivelato a se stessa la sua anima di destra, ombreggiandola sotto l'ambigua complessità democristiana, il Cavaliere ha creato un senso comune ribelle e d'ordine, rivoluzionario e conservatore, di rottura esterna e di garanzia interna, che lui muove e agita depending on the phases and conveniences, in total freedom, why should not answer a real public opinion in the party (which has never had a congress in 1994) and in the country, just adherence, applause, a vibration of consent , as happens when the policy is celebrated event, citizens become spectators and the leaders are transformed into modern idols, to use the definition of Bauman. Idols cut to size of the new application that no longer believes in effective forms of collective action, idols who did not show the way, but offer themselves as examples. " Here lies the basis of Berlusconi's resurgent populism, a populism of modernity, which exceeds the bad government of the five year test right at the Palazzo Chigi, advanced age, the repetitive wear and the work of language, the gigantism of the promises and the private obsessions turned into priorities of the Republic, as the perennial showdown with the judiciary.
why populism can be coherent framework to fears that the league is an entrepreneur in the North, assuring the delegation to the charismatic leader the minute displacement of the country and its people for fear that he can not dominate. Thus, Italy's vote seems more looking for reassurance that change.
2) The triumph of the Northern League, an unexpected event.
This phenomenon has its own reason for existence if one considers what is the nature of the party, which lost its characteristic features of the party of protest and a rupture has taken the form of what can be termed as regional party. A regional party as Angelo Panebianco wrote in the Corriere della Sera on April 17, is a party that escapes the classical label left / right: imposing itself as the voice of a certain territorial area, which aspires to represent in a monopoly, is a inter-party and community. It 's a party-community. For such a political group, have a role in the national government is important but only if it makes it more effective its action in favor of the local community represented. Its real strength lies in the control of local governments and a presence throughout the country. As noted by Andrea Romano (La Stampa), it is not clear whether the Northern League does not take into account the capacity that Umberto Bossi has had over the years to grow a local ruling class, youth directors, often clever, and capable of keep in tune with the demands of their citizens [...]. a regional party like the Northern League lives and thrives under a relationship 'contract', exchange, concretissimi on issues that directly affect their lives and their interests, with their representatives. To give strength to his action, to explain its roots and its successes, there are two circumstances. First, the fact that a regional party need not worry, unlike the large national parties, the 'compatibility' (only if it does not worry about damaging the territories represented) and national interests [...] Secondly, the fact that communitarianism land that inspires it allows him to move "as if" the people represented were internally homogeneous. For the inter-Community, "if you earn 'the land, win-win all its inhabitants.
3) The disappearance of a representation of the social and communities in the Italian Parliament.
The fact that the Rainbow Left and the Socialist Party have met with approval so low that they barely exceed the minimum threshold of 4% in the House and the more 's 8% in the Senate can be interpreted either as the outcome of a game vetoes, attacks, criticisms and reservations, which has paralyzed and drown dissent in the Prodi government, and also because the militants and supporters did not believe that the hack of the list is really the beginnings of a new-party movement, but a gimmick purely electoral Ezio Mauro writes in the article cited. But it can also be attributed to the inability of the radical left, da 12 anni a questa parte, di comprendere i mutamenti che si stavano producendo nel paese, di rompere incrostazioni e tabù, restia a politiche animate di coraggio e fantasia e timorosa di rompere le vecchie solidarietà frontiste, secondo Ernesto Galli Della Loggia (Corriere della Sera - 16 Aprile 2008) facendo trasferire, in tal modo, a destra i voti dei cittadini a cui questa forza storicamente si rivolge. Tale fenomeno non è da considerare del tutto negativo, se si tiene presente che nella prossima legislatura ciò produrrà come primario effetto una consistente semplificazione dei gruppi parlamentari. Inoltre, si spera che, in questo periodo di forzato esilio, tali forze intraprendano una fase di dialogo con le forze moderate e riformiste del Democratic Party. Otherwise they are bound to lose.
4) The polls have not declared the victory of the Democratic Party.
The election campaign conducted in an exemplary manner by Walter Veltroni, calmly and seriously worthy of a democratic leader, reformist and in line with what is happening in the rest of Europe, was not enough to gather the consensus of most Italians. However, we believe that the PD has been able to and will continue to prove to be a party that wants to distance himself from the stereotype of Italian politics. His style was particularly popular abroad (many prominent European newspapers like the Financial Times, Le Monde, El Mundo, tanto per citare alcuni esempi, hanno invitato gli italiani a votare PD) e ha contribuito a dare dell'Italia un'immagine diversa…almeno fino all'arrivo dei risultati elettorali.
A questo punto occorrerebbe analizzare cosa non abbia funzionato.
· Secondo Ezio Mauro molti italiani non hanno saputo comprendere la portata innovativa della scelta del PD di correre da soli, una scelta che ha avuto come importante conseguenza la semplificazione del quadro politico e parlamentare.
· La novità del PD di fronte ai gravi problemi della parte più debole del Paese è stata percepita da alcuni come "politicista". E dunque per essi è was easier to put those symbols on the cross from which they felt reassured, rather than risk putting a cross on the symbol that represented the new.
• The PD failed to intercept the center of the electoral vote, despite strong and influential component within the Catholic party, and this was linked, in part, by the inclusion of candidates to radical 'internal lists of PD. But it is not even managed to intercept the votes of the electorate of the radical left, which probably was not fully aware of the choice to run alone and the benefits of introducing a reformed system.
· Ha pesato, inoltre, l’opinione comune sul governo Prodi, sia per quanto riguarda l’aspetto tasse (aumentate per far fronte ai disastri provocati dalla “creatività” del ministro Tremonti…ma i più non l’hanno compreso), sia per la litigiosità della coalizione su qualsiasi tema.
· Il PD è partito svantaggiato, da un certo punto di vista. E’ stato fondato da soli pochi mesi, le elezioni sono giunte nel bel mezzo della sua fase costituente e non ha avuto modo di ben radicarsi nel territorio.
Il risultato elettorale non mette minimamente in discussione la leadership di Veltroni sancita dal 3.5 million Italians vote in the primaries of 14 October. To him the difficult task of leading the opposition to fight for the implementation of institutional reforms that Italy has a great need to support the reformist challenge even from the opposition benches, to protect the weaker sections of the instances that have no representation in parliament. If this can be carried out in the best way, with reliability and strength, and if the PD will be able to take root in the territory, and we have no doubt that this will happen at the next elections we will far exceed 33% and become the first force the reformist government in the history of Italy.
Eleonora Bellini Marzia Ballardin