Dal partito di plastica alla Repubblica fondata sui media

After ten years Berlusconi and the party he founded, Forza Italia, have entered into the Italian political scene, scholars and political actors still adopt two main interpretative lines. On one hand Forza Italia is summarized in his leader, Berlusconi. On the other hand Berlusconi and his way of doing politics is summarized in the communication and in his mediatic system. In other words, there is a tendency to consider Forza Italia a party with no territory and no society; it is just a reflection of Berlusconi’s public image and choices. The author discusses these two hypothesis, in part pointing out them and in part denying them. In fact, Forza Italia is a political party which has a certain independence by its leader. The electoral base is rooted in many areas of the country where Forza Italia has a broad and a widespread organization. Yet, Forza Italia has also a divided and unstable electorate which highly depending on the leader. Therefore, communication plays an important role, not for converting electoral choices but for promoting a representation of reality close to the interests of Forza Italia. At the same time communication offers an identity to its electorate in order to overcome differences and cleavages

Ilvo Diamanti, Dal partito di plastica alla Repubblica fondata sui media in "COMUNICAZIONE POLITICA" 1/2004, pp , DOI: