As the celebrations of the supposed end of the Berlusconi era fade away, competing voices can be heard vying to claim their role in ousting him: Pier Luigi Bersani, of the opposition Democratic Party (Pd), for one. However, it must be acknowledged that the Pd had years to mount an effective defence, but Berlusconi only resigned under pressure from other EU states. The political opposition within Italy is, as ever, underwhelming. Significantly, it was a cultural figure, Roberto Benigni, who made a splash visiting the EU this week, where he gave an alternative account of Italian culture and politics, and declared Italy the country of miraculous resurrections. It is not clear what kind of ‘resurrection’ may take place under ‘Super Mario’ Monti. There is resistance in some circles to this entrustment of the nation to an unelected figure, and to a technocrat at that. He is hailed as a modest, family man, he attends mass, and has a reputation for having blocked the formation of financial monopolies. However, media depictions of him as a stable, safe pair of hands risk eulogising conservatism as the only alternative to rampant Berlusconismo; they also imply that Berlusconi will no longer be pulling strings, which, given his capacity for self-resurrection, may not be the case.
Dr Clodagh Brook, Dr Charlotte Ross, and Dr Daniele Albertazzi
Italian Studies, Department of Modern Languages and Culture, University of Birmingham, recipients of a British Academy award for their project on Oppositional cultures under Berlusconi. Editors of Resisting the Ride: Cultures of Opposition under Berlusconi (2001-06), published by Continuum (2009), and authors of a series of articles on Italy's cultural and socio-political opposition against Berlusconi.