Silvio Berlusconi and the Americanization of Italian politics : a political analysis through the commentaries of il Corriere della sera

Abstract

Silvio Berlusconi changed the concept of political communication in Italy when he entered the field of Italian politics on January 26, 1994. As owner of three Italian TV channels Berlusconi promoted himself as a new politician able to restore a country tormented by the political collapse of the old multi-party system caused by the Mani pulite investigations. The phenomena of Silvio Berlusconi, superficially perceived as a funny, successful businessman and media tycoon represented in reality something else. In this thesis I want to reveal unknown elements of Berlusconi's life and public success, because he was able to manufacture his personal political consent through the massive use of his own three commercial networks, applying media and marketing strategies to Italian politics, importing from the United States the use of polls as consent multipliers. From 1994 the entire concept of political communication through the TV medium changed drastically, because the political arena was thrust into the mass media stage. However, Berlusconi was not without opposition. Italian newspapers tried to respond to the rampant media tycoon. The most important Italian newspaper, Il Corriere della Sera, was able to expose some of the dark sides of Berlusconi. The articles are significant because they saw Berlusconi as an anomalous politician approaching Italian politics in a flamboyant new way. Since the political elections of 1994, Berlusconi has appeared as an extraordinary and charismatic political leader in the eyes of the Italian people, because of an (un)controlled and totalitarian use of the media. This thesis documents Berlusconi's story both told and untold aspects; it uncovers the face of modern media fascism in Italy.