Epilogue

Abstract

Berlusconi is once again a player in the Italian political arena. This book was submitted in May 2018 and no interpretation is advanced on the ongoing political and institutional transformation of Italy. Berlusconi is making a last attempt to save Forza Italia as a living component of the Italian center-right. An alternative interpretation looks at his strategy as an attempt at survival in a time of transition. It is very hard to say if Italy is now experiencing another and different wave of populist insurgency. After the election of March 2018 the country entered into a new and troubled stage of its national history, and a thesis has been advanced: that of the Third Republic. In what is perhaps the last chameleonic transformation of Berlusconi, foreign policy is a key component. After being criticized for years as the man who opened the door to populism in Europe, Berlusconi now presents himself as the guardian of Italian stability and its reputation. Nonetheless, as prime minister and main opposition leader he played with the fire of foreign policy.