Twenty-First Century Populism: The Spectre of Western European ...

90 Twenty-First Century Populism
of the instability in this coalition relationship, in which Bossi’s party seems
beset by an inferiority complex from which it has rarely succeeded in freeing
itself. The need to strike a balance between the different expectations
and ambitions of the parties of the Casa delle Libertà has made the positions
of the Lega appear extreme, with the result that the party has not been taken
into account in many areas of government business. Only in the federal
reform of the state, the Lega’s key issue, did it manage to obtain full agreement
from its allies, but the party’s blackmail potential, even if it has often
been a source of tension in ministerial ranks (Albertazzi and McDonnell,
2005), has remained on the whole very limited, and a significant part of
their electoral promises has remained on paper (Hopkin, 2004).
To maintain a significant role and not give the impression to its supporters
of being completely subordinate to its partners, the Lega has continued
to exhibit in government some of its most typical traits. In this, it contrasts
strongly with Alleanza Nazionale which has continued doggedly along the
path of complete institutionalization. Unlike most other parties originating
in the extreme Right, AN has been very careful not to be swayed by the
sirens of populism and has instead spent much effort in establishing an
image as a responsible party. The message expressed in the manifestos,
newspapers and documents of the Lega has thus remained to the point,
Manichean and directed at the man in the street. Appeals are made to local
identity as the basis for the reconstruction of a homogeneous community,
solid and secure, where class discrimination does not exist and where the
recognition of certain interests (and values) common to all is clear and not
up for discussion. Even if in milder tones than those which characterized
the secessionist period of 1996−99, the dream of creating an independent
Padania remains a cornerstone of Bossi’s speeches, which are designed to
exorcize fears that his movement could finish up like the other parties.
The dedication towards the leader that legitimizes, in the eyes of the
movement and its followers, any change or U-turn by the leadership (Tarchi,
1998: 151−153), has facilitated this strategy. The rejection of part of the symbolic
apparatus built up over the years such as the mass rallies in Pontida,
the virtual proclamations of the Republic of Padania, and the pseudo-pagan
consecration rites was justified as an indispensable sacrifice at the altar of
the party’s new goal of federal devolution − one of the central elements of
the constitutional reform bill passed by the Berlusconi government but
overturned by voters in a June 2006 referendum.
Without forsaking the immediate, aggressive, crude and exaggerated language
that has always characterized it, and continuing to recognize the
charismatic authority of Bossi following his serious illness, the Lega has
attempted to remain as faithful as possible to its programme over five years
in government by tailoring its ideological messages to the circumstances.
Hence, the party’s exaltation of the virtuous, hard-working small entrepreneur
and its defence of craftsmen and small tradesmen struggling against