Many people see Italian politics as the exception within Europe. But the Italians are trendsetters, say Utrecht University scientists. The approach of Mussolini, Berlusconi and Grillo was followed by the rest of the world.
Lazily lying on the beach, lounging around a bit and taking a dip every now and then. “Long days doing nothing in the sun and enjoying life. That is the image that many people have of the holiday country Italy," say researchers and Italy experts Pepijn Corduwener and Arthur Weststeijn (Utrecht University). “It seems above all a country of stagnation and disorder, but when you think of political innovation you probably don't think of Italy. The country is indeed a trendsetter," argue the two scientists.
In their book 'The Italian Experiment', the authors provide a refreshing look at the modern political history of Italy. They describe how Benito Mussolini, Silvio Berlusconi, Beppe Grillo and Matteo Salvini became popular and set an example for many other politicians across the border. This is remarkable, because most historians argue the opposite. They emphasize that Italy is an exception in Europe and has therefore not been followed at all. Now that many people are on holiday in the southern European country, NEMO Kennislink is putting the scientists to the test.
Enjoy the good life
First the misunderstanding:the image of Italy as a purely old-fashioned country of traditions. The scientists say that many Dutch and historians see Italy this way because of deeply rooted stereotypes. “Many think that it is a country where it is mostly quiet, people don't follow the rules, the inhabitants don't work hard and above all enjoy the good life. But if we look at politics through the same glasses, things go wrong,” says Weststeijn. “Many Northern Europeans see Italy as the opposite of their own country, where citizens would actually abide by the rules and work hard. We see ourselves as modern, the norm and think that Italy deviates from this and is therefore lagging behind. While political trends are more visible in this country than elsewhere.”
A good example of modern Italy as a pioneer country is the rise of Benito Mussolini. He came to power in 1922 and remained Prime Minister until 1943. He turned Italy into a fascist state. He is seen by many historians as an exception, an example of how Italy went in a different direction from the rest of Europe. After all, there were mainly democracies there. The authors see in Mussolini the best example of Italy's pioneering role. How did that happen? “Because of the great gulf that has always existed in Italy between the people and the elite. A divide that is characteristic of modern politics as such, but goes deeper in Italy and that is precisely why Italian history shows how modern politics works," says Corduwener.
Mussolini tried to close that gap in his own way. He founded a fascist state in which he claimed as leader that he sensed the will of the people and was the example of the ideal Italian. “In this way he tried to build a bridge between the elite and the people,” said Weststeijn.
Hitler copies Mussolini
This approach was followed elsewhere. “Adolf Hitler later tried in the same way to close the gap between citizens and the administrative elite in Germany,” says Weststeijn. “And we still see that approach today, for example with Recep Erdogan in Turkey and Viktor Orbán in Hungary. Of course, there are also many differences between these leaders. Under Mussolini, for example, the use of violence was considered much more normal than currently in Turkey and Hungary. But the way in which Mussolini wanted to bring the citizen and the administrative elite together through his own cult of personality has subsequently proved to be very influential.”
In Italy, the gap between citizen and politics is all-important from the start. As late as the nineteenth century, the country consisted of all kinds of different city-states and Austria owned large parts of the country. In the second half of the nineteenth century, several attempts were made to unify Italy, with all those different regions under a national government. This eventually succeeded, mainly through the efforts of the rich Piedmont region in the north of the country. “But because the unification was an elite project, the unification also created a great gulf between the people and the administrative elite,” says Coduwener.
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In recent decades, politician Silvio Berlusconi has particularly caught the eye. He came to power in the 1990s and was dismissed in the Netherlands as a clown, a politician who behaved especially strangely and flamboyantly. “He was seen as the crazy Italian, who chases the women and makes funny jokes,” says Corduwener. “People saw him as the exception who could only come to power in that country. But Berlusconi also found a lot of imitation. Take Donald Trump. He became president of the United States. We now see the model of the businessman, who uses vulgar humor to respond to emotions in all kinds of countries. They make false statements to shock. There are of course also differences. Trump emerged within an existing party, while Berlusconi himself founded a party and stayed in power longer. But it is a similar personality and way of doing politics.”
Wilders and Baudet copy Berlusconi
Just look at Berlusconi's very vulgar way of speaking. He does this to rebel against the established order. In Italy, a kind of educational ideal existed for a long time. On television and in politics, the elite told you what you should have read and how you should behave. “You saw that in films, among other things, that were laced with moral lessons. But that didn't matter to Berlusconi's television channels, they revolved around entertainment. That's how he behaved himself:he didn't pretend to be better than the common man. Trump did that in a similar way. Moreover, Berlusconi addressed the people through his own TV channels. Trump used Twitter for that. In this way they conveyed their own message to their supporters unfiltered," said Weststeijn.
And then look at the Netherlands, say the authors. You see the same influences there now. “Geert Wilders and Thierry Baudet react in a similar way to the elite, the rulers of the country. They are talking about the canal belt. At the same time, Geert Wilders has been a member of the House of Representatives in The Hague for more than twenty years. Yet the message is:we are different from the elite and are on your side. The resistance against the establishment is certainly in it.”
Silvio Berlusconi has since disappeared from the political scene for a while. Beppe Grillo has stood out in recent years. He was best known as a comedian and in 2009 he founded the Five Star Movement (MoVimento 5 Stelle), a new political party. According to Grillo, the party is not left or right, but it is for a direct democracy. Coduwener and Weststeijn call this 'platform politics', to emphasize that Grillo wants to bring citizens and administrators together in a new place:via a platform, such as Facebook or the party's online forum.
Sardines are coming up
“The Five Star Movement bypasses parliament and the traditional media via platforms,” says Corduwener. “They communicate directly with their supporters. Berlusconi did that via television, Grillo via the internet. In this way, Grillo promises his voters a say in the political course, in order to close the gap between elite and citizens. That is the promise of the democratic face of platform politics, although it is not always fulfilled.”
There is also another face. And that is the right-wing populist variant, according to Corduwener and Weststeijn. The best-known Italian example is politician Matteo Salvini of the Lega (formerly Lega Nord) party. “He is one of the most popular politicians and fanatically uses the internet to build a strong bond with his supporters. He presents himself as the strong leader. This is not about participation of the members or followers. Salvini mainly uses Facebook to convey his vision and create the image of a strong leader so that voters vote for him.”
This approach was also copied by other countries. Fanatic use of social media has become an integral part of modern politicians, especially populists. But here too there was a reaction in Italy. A strong counter-movement arose. In 2019, large groups of people took to the streets. “They went to the piazza of their city or village because they wanted to get together physically. In this way they made a statement against the virtual contacts of platform politics. Their nickname was 'the sardines', because so many people came and they stood close to each other," says Weststeijn. “That happened just before the corona measures that made large gatherings impossible. I myself went to such a square and noticed that the meetings had no clear political agenda, although they were mainly aimed at Salvini. At the same time, the sardines favored a more positive image of migration and more pro-European Union. They did not want to put a leader on the shield, but above all let their voices be heard en masse.”
And so politics in Italy takes a different turn. And if you listen to Weststeijn and Corduwener, the other countries will probably follow. If you want to know the future of politics, you have to look at the southern European country. “Italy experiments ad infinitum”, according to Corduwener. “This is mainly due to the gap between the administrative elite and the people. It's still there. The political struggle is about closing it. But actually no one really succeeds. That battle is far from over.”