From Strong Ideologies to Populism: Understanding Political Oratory in Italy

After the Second World War, with the rise of a democratic state, the assertive and emotional rhetoric of the fascist leader Benito Mussolini was replaced by the ideological and harsh debate between the pro-Western party Christian Democracy (Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi) and the Communist Party (Deputy Prime Minister Palmiro Togliatti). During the long period of moderate governments of Christian Democracy and its allies until the 1980s, political discourse addressed the major issues concerning the management of power and the state (Prime Ministers Aldo Moro, Giulio Andreotti), and social and labor rights (General Secretary of the Italian Communist Party Enrico Berlinguer), displaying a reasoned, argued style. The end of the so-called “First Republic” after far-left terrorism and corruption trials led to a climate of strong populism, initially expressed by Berlusconi’s “descent into the field” in January 1994. A personalized and polarized rhetoric characterized the 2000s, manifested by the offensive speeches of Beppe Grillo (co-founder of the Italian Five Star Movement political party) and by the aggressive and moralistic ones of the right-wing exponents Matteo Salvini (Federal Secretary of Italy’s Lega party) and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (Fratelli d’Italia), steeped in a political ethos of sovereignty, discriminatory policies, tradition, and patriotism. Progressive values such as civil rights and individual freedom were supported by the pop language of Elly Schlein, secretary of the Democratic Party