Abstract
This chapter draws on the material presented in the previous chapters to provide a summary account of the election focussing on the political, economic and international contexts in which it took place; on the parties’ strategies in the run-up to the vote; on the campaign, and on the election outcome. It then asks about the extent to which the election and its outcome represented a watershed in Italian politics, addressing the question from the perspectives of parties, voters, the government and the regime. It argues that in recent years, what have, at the time they happened, appeared to be fundamental changes, have often failed to last and that, perhaps, what best captures the novelty of 2018, then, is the idea of a new era of fluidity and uncertainty. If anything, then, was certain after the 2018 election it was that the future of Italian politics looked at one and the same time to be both very interesting and at least somewhat worrying.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
From the beginning, Di Maio distinguished himself for his ‘presidential’ style, the reassuring tenor of his messages, and his ‘official’ profile as vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies. It is significant that when he makes public appearances, he is almost always wearing a jacket and tie—which in itself serves to convey a reassuring message.
- 2.
For this reason it could be called a multi-ideological rather than a-ideological or post-ideological force as it usually likes to consider itself.
- 3.
In 1980, the American political scientist, Bertram Gross, published a book called, Friendly Fascism: The New Face of Power in America. Paraphrasing Gross, the American film director, Michael Moore, is said to have suggested, following the election of Donald Trump as US president, ‘The next wave of fascists will not come with cattle cars and concentration camps, but they’ll come with a smiley face and maybe a TV show. That’s how the 21st-century fascists will essentially take over’ (Jacobs 2016).
References
Bordignon, Fabio. 2014. Matteo Renzi: A “Leftist Berlusconi” for the Italian Democratic Party? South European Society and Politics 19 (1): 1–23.
Bordignon, Fabio, Luigi Ceccarini, and Ilvo Diamanti. 2018. Le divergenze parallele. L’Italia: dal voto devoto al voto liquido. Rome and Bari: Laterza.
Ceccarini, Luigi. 2018. Un nuovo cleavage? I perdenti e i vincenti (della globalizzazione). In Le divergenze parallele. L’Italia: dal voto devoto al voto liquido, ed. Fabio Bordignon, Luigi Ceccarini, and Ilvo Diamanti, 156–182. Rome and Bari: Laterza.
Ceccarini, Luigi, and Fabio Bordignon. 2018. Towards the 5 Star Party. Contemporary Italian Politics 10 (4): 346–362.
Chadwick, Andrew. 2013. The Hybrid Media System: Politics and Power. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Chiaramonte, Alessandro, and Vincenzo Emanuele. 2017. Party System Volatility, Regeneration and De-institutionalization in Western Europe (1945–2015). Party Politics 23 (4): 376–388.
Diamanti, Ilvo. 2018. I colori sbiaditi della Geografia elettorale. In Le divergenze parallele. L’Italia: dal voto devoto al voto liquido, ed. Fabio Bordignon, Luigi Ceccarini, and Ilvo Diamanti, 92–110. Rome and Bari: Laterza.
Gross, Bertram. 1980. Friendly Fascism: The New Face of Power in America. New York: M. Evans & Co.
Ignazi, Piero. 2014. Vent’anni dopo. La parabola del berlusconismo. Bologna: il Mulino.
Istat. 2018. La povertà in Italia. Anno 2017. https://www.istat.it/it/files//2018/06/La-povert%C3%A0-in-Italia-2017.pdf.
Jacobs, Matthew. 2016. Michael Moore: Fascists Now Come with ‘A Smiley Face and Maybe a TV Show’. Huffpost, November 14. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/michael-moore-donald-trump_us_5829c5bce4b02d21bbc97cab?guccounter=1.
Legnante, Guido, and Cristian Vaccari. 2018. Social media e campagna elettorale. In Vox populi. Il voto ad alta voce del 2018, ed. Itanes. Bologna: il Mulino.
Mancini, Paolo, and Franca Roncarolo. 2018. Tanto tuonò che piovve: la campagna elettorale nei giornali e in televisione. In Vox populi. Il voto ad alta voce del 2018, ed. Itanes. Bologna: il Mulino.
Montemagno, Francesca. 2016. Il confine sottile tra le Regole e le Regole: il Movimento 5 Stelle dentro le Istituzioni. Paper presented to the XXX annual conference of the Società Italiana di Scienza Politica, University of Milan, 15–17 September.
Newell, James L. 2018a. Italy’s Divided Politics. Political Insight 9 (2): 19–23.
Newell, James L. 2018b. Editorial: The General Election Campaign: Europe, Germany and the Five-Star Movement. Contemporary Italian Politics 10 (1): 1–3.
Newell, James L. 2018c. Editorial: Living in Interesting Times. Contemporary Italian Politics 10 (3): 215–217.
Tronconi, Filippo. 2018. The Italian Five Star Movement During the Crisis: Towards Normalisation? South European Society and Politics 23 (1): 163–180.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Newell, J.L., Ceccarini, L. (2019). Conclusion: Italy in Uncharted Territory—Towards a New Era of Uncertainty. In: Ceccarini, L., Newell, J. (eds) The Italian General Election of 2018. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13617-8_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13617-8_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-13616-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-13617-8
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)