For a Fistful of Votes. The 2006 Italian Elections

Elections are dramatic and exciting. They are rich in interpretations of political behaviour and they explain a country to itself. Elections are also a test for the political system: they reveal things that the candidates preferred to hide, and lay bare the problems that political systems are supposed to resolve. The April 2006 elections were a hard-fought contest between two candidates, Silvio Berlusconi and Romano Prodi, and between the coalitions that they rather lamely represented. The warriors battled it out like Juventus and AC Milan until one of them keeled over. In a highly personalized campaign they appeared in live TV debates answering questions put by anyone and everyone. Italy is a heterogeneous country, but the two candidates reflected quite distinct images of society. Would Italians opt, once more, for the self-made billionaire, Berlusconi? Or would they prefer the “professore,” the man of traditional virtues and hard work