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

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research. Rather, there are, in his personality, way of thinking and behaviour,
and in the image that has accompanied him since the beginning of his
political adventure, particular traits which allow Berlusconi to fill the role
of populist leader naturally and convincingly. The Milanese businessman is
presented as a typical successful self-made man who has never severed his
links with the middle classes from which he emerged. Despite his enormous
fortune, he works hard to appear as one of the common people. He may well
be luckier and better able to reap the rewards of his talents, but the message
is that he is still made of the same stuff, as emphasized by the often-repeated
phrase in speeches: ‘I am one of you’. Paternalistic and reassuring, Berlusconi
never misses an opportunity to proclaim himself as the interpreter and
defender of the popular will. His ideal stage is not the platform of a rally, but
the television screen which, as owner of the three most popular private
networks, he knows perfectly. His model is not so much that of the crowdseducer,
but of the businessman who is taking on the difficult task of sorting
out the accounts, delegating responsibility and ensuring the cooperation
of all employees. He interprets and depicts his job as prime minister as that
of the CEO of ‘Italy plc’, who cannot waste time on the burdensome rituals of
parliamentary discussions and is obliged only to report to the company
shareholders, or rather that part of the electorate which, with their vote,
have placed absolute faith in him.
From the moment he decided to enter politics, Berlusconi has frequently
reiterated that he is only on ‘temporary loan’ to politics. He has left the professional
world, but wishes to return there once he has successfully completed
his mission to ‘save the country’ from the abyss into which it would
be led by ‘old politics’ (especially the parties of the Left). His pride in coming
from outside the corrupt and inefficient elite is a key element in his populist
repertory. He has consistently repeated that he is a businessman first and
foremost, and was not afraid to claim in Parliament as Prime Minister: ‘I do
not, have not and will not do anything that is motivated by professional or
party politicking’ (Berlusconi, 2001: 43). What Hermet has defined as his
‘post-ideological anti-politics’ (Hermet, 2001: 395) expresses itself through
his marked departure from the language and customs that characterize traditional
political life. ‘Abstract principles’ and ‘complicated ideologies’ are,
therefore, explicitly banned from Forza Italia which must remain ‘a movement’
and expresses an open ‘aversion to party politics’. As the leader says:
‘whenever I hear that Forza Italia is a party, I get shivers down my spine’
(Berlusconi, 2000: 140). But it is not only the parties, their representatives
and workers who are the object of Berlusconi’s disdain. Even though he is
always careful not to treat representative institutions with disrespect −
unlike Bossi, who is regularly sarcastic and scathing towards them − and has
declared an almost sacred respect for the Parliament, insofar as it is the prime
institution of popular sovereignty, he has often lamented its indecisiveness,
comparing it unfavourably with the efficiency of the private sector.