The recent confidence vote held by Italian MPs presented us with a vivid picture of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s political style. His supreme aim of not compromising his political and personal interests overrode anything else, including the national interest. Buying and influencing the votes of Italian politicians is possible, thanks to a grey area of almost one-man parties that are sensitive to any rewards a government might offer. That is how Berlusconi survived avote of no confidence vote by a margin of three votes and secured the continuation of his government – at least for now.
Politically, however, he has never been weaker. The creation of a vaguely centrist alliance (dubbed the “third pole” by media commentators) – to challenge the Prime Minister is a significant development. It is led by Gianfranco Fini of the new Future and Liberty party, Pier Ferdinand Casini of the Roman Catholic UDC, and Franesco Rutelli of the small Alliance for Italy. The first two are former Berlusconi allies. The latter is a former prominent figure in the main opposition party, the Democratic Party (PD). Their alliance is a sign of the fluidity of the current political scene.
For some time, leading members of the economic and financial establishment have been expressing unease about Berlusconi’s governance of the economy. Pressure on Italy’s public finances from European institutions is still considerable. Although the country is not on a par with Greece, Berlusconi’s government is confronted by some severe economic problems.
In addition, during these episodes of political manoeuvring, major demonstrations of students and workers have shaken Italian democracy. Students oppose Berlusconi’s reform of state universities that includes cuts and the increased participation of private business in academic institutions. Some public funding is being diverted to private universities. Workers are still trying to cope with the effects of the global economic crisis that are far from settled.
Berlusconi has been resorting to the one thing he can do rather well: to seek to reach a consensus using a range of means, regardless of their ethical and social costs. In a never fully realised democracy such as Italy’s, where large areas of the country are controlled by nepotistic appointments and organised crime, and where so much regulation is no more than apparent, Berlusconi’s strategy has been a winning one for 16 years.
By exploiting Italy’s worst instincts, Berlusconi has severely weakened an already fragile civil society. He was already imposing his cultural values on the country with his various televison channels a decade before he became a politician.
He has influenced how the opposition parties approach politics. They have resorted to a strange mix of realpolitik and unethical behaviour in their unsuccessful efforts to undermine and defeat the Prime Minister. They have come to see Berlusconi as their great enemy and this is the justification for compromise of almost any sort on the part of his opponents as they seek to bring him down.
In selecting their candidates of office under the current electoral system which has some horrific shortcomings, they have turned to people who were never really motivated by any concept of public service. So it is hardly surprising that Berlusconi has been able to buy off some of these political mercenaries without too much trouble.
Without strong leaders, and having been unable to establish a strong anti-Berlusconi consensus even when the Prime Minister has been in deep trouble, has left the opposition parties in limbo.
Modern Italy is a very divided society – second only to the United States and Britain in terms of inequality, as far as Western democracies are concerned. Scepticism and cynicism are rife, with the all implications that has for political life. Italy is characterised by sectional interests and unhealthy localism among its constituent parts. The social ties that once held the country together are unravelling.
These are being replaced by the scarcely hidden secessionist agenda of the Northern League in the north of the country. Further, there may be a generational confrontation between protected “old workers” and precarious young ones. It may be a case of Italians versus immigrants. Such phenomena threaten the future of the country.
Many of these problems predate Berlusconi. However, his government stands guilty of exacerbating them rather than attempting to tackle them. He has even tried to legitimise and capitalise on some of the widening fractures in the Italian social fabric.
A great challenge faces those who seek to replace Berlusconi’s style of politics with a more democratic and inclusive kind. So far, sadly, they have failed to rise to it.
A combination of disappearing grassroots organisation in the political parties, with exception of the Northern League, a lack of political vision and an enduring but immovable group of leaders has resulted in a dull and largely ineffective opposition. So it was no real surprise when Berlusconi’s first real challenge came from a former friend. Gianfranco Fini comes from the post-fascist Alleanza Nazionale (National Alliance). When he decided to merge his party with Berlusconi’s to form the Popolo Della Libertà (PDL or People’s Freedom Party), he probably expected Berlusconi to share leadership or at least give him a significant say in running the new organisation. Neither happened.
The credibility of Italian politics has not been so diminished since the time of Tangentopoli – the wave of corruption scandals and ensuing investigations that almost wiped out an entire political cohort. It led to the collapse of the hitherto dominant Christian Democrats.
Now scandals break on an almost monthly basis involving political allies or subordinates of Berlusconi, including Guido Bertolaso, the director of the Civil Protection body responsible for response and reconstruction after the terrible earthquake that destroyed the city of l’Aquila.
Berlusconi’s dream now is to end his political career as president of the Italian republic and thus join the line of the nation’s “founding fathers”. To accomplish this, he is willing for the country to pay a tremendous price – having a virtual zombie government that shields him and gives him immunity so he evades the many charges against him.
Berlusconi may have won a confidence vote, but Italy lost another chance to address its deep-rooted and dramatic troubles.
Giuseppe A Veltri is co-editor with Andrea Mammone of Italy Today, The Sick Man of Europe, published by Routledge
