Law, Revolution and Populism in Italy: The Path from Constitutional Resentment to Constitutional Renaissance

Summary

IN SEARCH OF THE ROOTS OF ITALIAN POPULISM

Where does Italian populism come from? In Europe, populism is marked by a variety of forms. For Italian constitutional scholars, too, it represents a significant challenge. This challenge is grounded on one theoretical question: can domestic populism develop into an anti-constitutional phenomenon? The answer may be simple if legal scholars limit their analysis to countries under Article 7 of the European Union Treaty's procedure. The answer is difficult if Italian scholars address it through the perspective of domestic constitutional law and history.

In Italy, existing populism's forms may be defined by adopting Cesare Pinelli's words. These forms of populism all embody ’ an ideology claiming that “the political class” has lost contact with the “real will of the people“, and promising to give it voice through new leaders, movements, or parties’. Furthermore, Italian populism seems to be double-faced. Michela Manetti, recalling Benjamin Arditi's position, explains that the phenomenon is slippery. Depending on the context, it may express democracy's malaise or threat. In the first case, democracy may react by finding again its original calling. In the second case, democracy risks being defeated. This chapter tries to explain that in Italy, populism was born as democracy's malaise, and today risks developing into a threat.

Italy's experience shows that the adoption of a democratic constitution does not necessarily protect from authoritarian temptations. Even a constitutional order based on human dignity, the protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law may suffer from a dangerous illness. The Constituent Assembly clearly designed the idea of democracy on which the Italian Constitution (ItC) is grounded. Democracy is anchored in a representative system, limiting not only every branch of government, but also the people. As things are, this idea seems to be forgotten. Why?

Today, Italian populism is marked by several aspects. In short, populist rhetoric appeals to direct democracy and the personalisation of politics. It is anchored to the belief of the existence of one people, to be protected from all outsiders – that is, ‘enemies’ not belonging to its conceptual and territorial boundaries.