The Rise And Fall Of Silvio Berlusconi
The outrageous style of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi bears several similarities to Donald Trump’s attitude during the Republican primary debates.
Berlusconi, who was the head of the Italian Government for three stints between 1994 and 2011, was ultimately forced to resign after pressure was put on him from European leaders who feared that the Italian economy was going in the same direction as Greece. It is easy to pinpoint many mistakes that led Italy to near-bankruptcy. While the US economy is growing strong currently, it will be important for the American electorate to learn from Italy’s history and make a wise choice on its next president.
During Berlusconi’s first political campaign, he sought votes from northern Italian entrepreneurs. These were the people who were tired of the more traditional politicians and wanted a new face in office. He was also voted for by those who thought being a successful entrepreneur could automatically make one a solid leader.
With Berlusconi’s strong and outgoing personality, his knowledge of how to persuade the audience through media did the rest of the job. The fact that he controlled several television channels, magazines, and newspapers through his companies surely helped as well.
During his second and third stints, Berlusconi lost a lot of his political credibility first by firing and silencing some of the most important Italian journalists. He had a number of affairs outside his marriage, which made him vulnerable to blackmail. Further, he embraced a “machista” attitude, embracing thoroughly sexist views.
In foreign policy, Berlusconi’s best political friends, aside from the US Republican Party, were Russian Prime Minister Putin, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, and Libyan Colonel Gaddafi. The latter was allowed to put up a camp in one of the most beautiful public parks in Rome during one of his last visits. Gaddafi requested, and was subsequently granted this request, to be visited by a large number of young Italian female graduates interested in working in Libya.
The list of Berlusconi’s unsavory acts is endless, but it makes one worry about the similarities that Trump’s personality has with that of the former Italian Prime Minister.
What The USA Should Learn From Berlusconi’s Nine Years:
Berlusconi’s and Trump’s similar styles of speech help to shift the attention from their inane political views and ideas using an aggressive attitude and frequently inappropriate and offensive language.
Being aggressive helps in two ways. Primarily, it shut downs opponents during a political debate. Through such attacks, opponents often have a hard time picking themselves up again. Secondly, opponents are then forced to focus and answer said aggressive attitude. Through having to focus on this insubstantial content, this prevents them from talking directly and firmly about their real ideas and policies.
Controlling and influencing the media is a powerful weapon during an electoral campaign. Berlusconi received much more media coverage than his opponents. As does Trump. Berlusconi was also able to woo the audience with catchphrases and buzz words that were exactly what a middle-class populist would love to hear.
The most striking similarity between Berlusconi and Trump is about their rhetoric on taxation. Both Berlusconi and Trump feel like they are victims of an unfair fiscal system which often strikes a chord among various taxpaying demographics. For both Berlusconi and Trump, each prefers rhetoric to substance, and neither cares whether something is a good or bad idea—only whether or not they can make noise about it.
Finally, just like Trump, a lack of alternatives helped his popularity. Berlusconi’s tenure outlasted the arrival of new political parties and personalities on the Italian political scene. This is incredibly similar to what is going on in the USA. Finding the right Republican candidate after the Obama presidency is proving to be incredibly difficult.
Whether people like President Obama or not, he undoubtedly has a strong personality. The Republicans unfortunately cannot find anyone among the establishment to fill those shoes. In comes Trump.
Featured image via Flikr by Enrico Maioli and available under Creative Commons 2.0 license.
