In Italy, 19 coalition administrations were created in the seven legislative periods following 1993, known as the Second Republic, with significant legal reforms impacting political life, and five in the final two parliamentary sessions (2013 and 2018). The conflict of actors striving to gather the passion for change and regeneration has defined the country over the previous 25 years. The changeover between center-right and center-left coalitions, as well as technocrat names, came to the fore.
Identical political arguments in the EU, as well as other Mediterranean nations like Spain and Greece, may be analyzed in the light of liberal democracies’ representation dilemma. The birth and collapse of new formations is being witnessed by the crisis of representation, which will reveal itself with the breakdown of settled constitutions and extremely well-known actors and represent the aspirations of the people. Populism is a powerful instrument that will be used at this stage. In the context of representative-people-global developments, the loss of liberal democracy’s capacity to produce solutions in crises highlights populism’s immediate solution proposals and demands for a sharp break. This discursive framework, while reflecting the search for new politics, also represents the congested nature of liberal democracy. The struggle for this path, which is also represented in many nations throughout the world, takes happening in Italy, with its own characteristics.
Along with the discussions sparked by geographical, cultural, and economic differences, as well as national and international consequences, Italian democracy considers Europe’s difficulties. The repercussions of populism can be seen in a country that is attempting to address its problem via technocratic administrations, unelected leadership, or the growing politicalness of non-political actors. Populism encompasses a broad response against traditional political forms, the recent history created by them, and dispersed attempts for the people’s voice to be heard more against the elites, albeit it is defined variously by diverse perspectives. In recent years, the ascent of the M5S and Lega in Italy has been based on concerns that the public is not properly represented. The success these parties in 2018 might be interpreted as populism’s first foray into central politics.
These shifts will be assessed in the perspective of populism and the liberal democratic crises. The main argument of article is that, in the instance of Italy, continuing the democratic discourse safeguards democracy from becoming authoritarian. On the other side, populism will be emphasized as a growing factor in national politics. The attitude and program that social democrats create in this process, as well as the propensity of new players produced by populist politics, will largely impact the path of democracy, as demonstrated by the cases of M5S and Lega. The argument over whether democracy will stay authoritarian or pluralistic is also at this critical point.
Italian politics is continuously shifting due to internal and external issues and changes, and the country is trying to build a stable administration. Political crises in Italy are the manifestation of national and worldwide political crises. Italy is a significant European country with a historical history and is always suffering institutional and legal variations. After 1990, regional and global trends continued to disrupt Italy’s political landscape, which lacked strong underpinnings. The recent debates, such as the EU’s enlargement effort, the draft Constitution, and the stalemate caused by its rejection, the September 11 attacks and the subsequent security perspective, the fall behind in democracy, and the rise of the authoritarian parties mentioned in the article, have all been reflected in Italian politics as a domestic crisis. As mentioned above, the internal crises in the country’s democratic politics, which have a long history of structural difficulties, have been examined throughout the research by focusing on the most notable actors in the recent past.
Berlusconi sought a new strong name with names like M5S leader Beppe Grillo and Matteo Salvini, who led the rise of the small right-wing party Lega, after the second half of the 1990s, when he left his mark with formations like Forza Italia and the House of Freedoms, politics became increasingly personal, and he sought a new strong name with names like M5S leader Beppe Grillo and Matteo Salvini, who led the rise of the small The failure of the social democrats to develop such a leader, as well as their unwillingness to put up a platform to address the crisis, has rendered them the third actor in a country where the Christian Democrat heritage is strong. With the breakup and re-establishment of parties, as well as ever-changing electoral and governing combinations, the decisive power of the post-Berlusconi period in Italy has not been explained. While parties sympathetic to left populism, such as M5S, and right-wing populism, such as Lega, have risen discursively in this context, they have not yet been able to achieve a systemic revolution. Although populist movements that criticize the influence of foreign policy on the country, particularly the EU, claim to represent the people’s interests, this has not become a planned strategy.
This incident also represented several issues with liberal democracy. The difficulty of representation is the first of them. With governments changing regularly, radical viewpoints growing popular, central politics losing its attraction, and therefore increased demonstrations and activities, this dilemma becomes a catastrophe. All these events occurred in a short period of time in Italy. Populism, post-truth, post-democracy, and post-politics are instances of the political crises and the desire for change that are currently being debated in Europe and even throughout the world, with examples such as Brazil and the United States. The uncertainty in this changing process, the development of new players, institutional change, and the loss of compromise points are all symbols of the crisis.
Finally, the robust democratic discussion in Italy throughout the first two decades of the twenty-first century shields it against the growth of authoritarian democracies in the country, where politics is subjected to both discursive and legal and institutional scrutiny. To put it another way, a majority that will obstruct competitiveness, conflict, and competition is impossible to accomplish. In Italy, the quest for alternative politics is not yet reached the point of obstructing politics, at least for the time being. This maintains the nation on the periphery of Western European democracy in several ways. Italy has yet to see the populist shift observed in Eastern Europe. It is critical that social democrats adopt policies in response to the demands that emerge from social movements currently, so that democracy does not suffer a populist/authoritarian metamorphosis. Although it may appear impossible to exclude personal influences from Italian politics soon, fresh interventions by historically powerful social democrats are required to construct inclusive populist policies in opposition to neoliberalism’s market promises.
Tony Mershon
Hello and thank you for your post,
I think one of your most important points is that the rise of populism – both in Italy and across the globe – is predicated on the disillusionment with the status quo’s ability to solve the nation’s issues. In Italy’s case, there is no surprise that many are seeking outside populist options, like M5S and Lega, considering the deep levels of gridlock and uncertainty of the nation’s politics. As a wide array of politicians in Italy spar over the domestic and foreign policy issues you have mentioned, it is important for them to act in good faith, and settle their differences when necessary in order to protect their democracy from the possibility of authoritarianism. Therefore, it is important for Italy’s political establishment to address the needs of the citizenry, before they are abandoned for populist alternatives. As seen recently, Italy’s lawmakers united to re-elect President Mattarella, ending looming political instability. With this crisis averted, it is important that the nation’s politicians can work to address the issues that their country faces. As different parts of Italy’s political establishment may disagree on how to solve the nation’s problems, they must unite to not only avoid instability and create solutions for the nation’s problems, but to also defend democracy from authoritarian threats, just as they did to re-elect President Mattarella