How to win the next European Elections? Just wait for an earthquake.

On Monday 6th of April the hearth decided to shake itself in Abruzzo, Italy. Such event left 297 people dead and around 50% of the population of the regional capital l’Aquila without their houses.
A number of questions could be asked in the attempt to understand why so many houses crumbled like sand castles, but the aim of this article is not to find causes and responsibilities rather to study how a dramatic event such an earthquake can be used to the advantage of a political parties.
On Monday the sixth immediately after the main earth tremor the area was evacuated and a main message was launched: leave the area to the rescue teams; don’t come to the disaster area if you are not part of the rescue effort.
Abruzzo was practically sealed to outsiders. But was the area closed to everybody? Of course the accredited press was allowed to report from the seen, journalists had to be escorted by fire fighters or the army to guarantee their safety, they had as expected plenty of time to broadcast the destruction and the effort of the emergency units. But were the rescue teams and the accredited press the only allowed to move in the area of the disaster? Obviously not.









The same day of the disaster Mr. Silvio Berlusconi flew with an helicopter over the area to understand the degree of the damages. After the flight he landed near by and went to visit the area in person.
His visit didn't seemed anything strange, he is the Prime minister and he wanted personally to understand the gravity of the situation. After setting up a press conference to brief the media on the current situation, he announced that the Government would work side by side with the people effected by the earthquake.
And in what way the Government decided to be present in Abruzzo? Since the terrible night of the 6th of April, Mr.Berlusconi visited the area in numerous occasions.
The PR machine started working, the Premier was photographed with fire fighters wearing their helmet, hugging old people, opening a school in a temporary tent camp for refugees together with kids, and in many other occasions.
Did this systematic campaign work?
According to the latest surveys the popularity of Mr. Berlusconi, after the earthquake, increased to an unpredicted level. In terms of intention of vote, referred to the European elections, the party of Mr. Berlusconi is expected to receive near 50% of total votes in a country where there will be no less five main parties running for the seats in Brussels.
The elections are very close and if the ''Berlusconi machine'' will work as expected, there won't be any chances for the opponents.

At the court of Mr. Berlusconi

If in my previous post I commented on the awareness of Italian Prime Minister Mr. Silvio Berlusconi of the importance of having ‘’the right face’’ to win public approval, today I want to spend a few words on Berlusconi and his idea of the ideal female candidate.

When it comes to women, what are the ingredients to make a right candidate?

As demonstrated by the victories of the past two years, the right candidate should be young, intelligent and of course good looking.
And what if the candidate has a past as a showgirl? No problem!
It is the case of the Minister for Equal Opportunities Ms. Mara Garfagna (pic. above) that famous in the past for her semi naked pictures became a very well appreciated Minister thanks to her dedication to the job and to her impersonification of the emancipatio Italian women.

But, is Minister Garfagna an isoleted case of beauty and political engagement? Of course not . The court of Mr. Silvio Berlusconi counts another minister worth of the best fashion magazines, Minister of Environment Stefania Prestigiacomo (pic. right)


And, Is there space for a new minister? On. Michela Brambilla, to whom Berlusconi has promised a place as Minister by the end of 2009 even if we still don't know who will be fired to make space for her (pic.left)

And for the future? Who is going to be the new lady of Berlusconi's group of candidates to the European Elections? The 27 years old TV presenter Barbara Matera.

Will Mr.Berlusconi once again prove that beauty is not a synonymous of stupidity? and has he changed forever the stereotypical idea that italians have of politicians?

Mr. Silvio Berlusconi warns his party on PR rival.

After two years of electoral victories at every level of the Italian political scenario, Popolo delle Liberta' gets a warning from its leader, prime minister and media tycoon Mr. Silvio Berlusconi.

According to Mr. Berlusconi the new leader of the opposition party ( Partito Democratico), Mr. Dario Franceschini, could have more chances to achieve better results then is predecessor.

Mr. Franceschini became the secretary of PD just twenty days ago, replacing Mr. Walter Veltroni, after another electoral disaster for his party in the Sardegna regional elections. So, why is Mr. Franceschini more ''dangerous'' then its predecessor? Did he perform some political miracle? Does it have an enlightening vision to solve Italy's problems? Is he the new guru of the Italian political scene?

As reported by Corriere della Sera the concern of Mr. Berlusconi is not the political skills of his opponent, rather his look and his capacity to be in television. '' That good boy face works on TV'' warned Mr. Berlusconi. There is no doubt that Mr. Berlusconi, knows what he is talking about. Owner of three national private TV stations and a media empire, he built his political career on his image cultivation.

Throughout his career he made public relations and his appearances on TV the core of his political strategy. Since his rise in power the oppositions have in a number of occasion accused him of using PR techniques instead of having a real political agenda.

Is something now going to change? Has the Partito Democratico finally understood that there is no victory without communication and image cultivation?

Here I am

Every time I introduce my self, people ask me if I miss my country, but what is a country? And what there is in a country to be missed?

If you ask me if I miss what is familiar to me, then my answer is of course I miss the known. In this perspective, I miss Italy as much as I miss England and India, the other two places where I lived. But if you ask me if I would swap the unknown for the known then my answer is negative.

To know is an invaluable achievement, but the beauty of a trip is the travelling in itself. Look forward and the known will become a challenge to explore further more.

My contribution to this blog will be my effort in find connections of our different, but incredibly similar, Europe.

My posts will focus in the understanding of different European political and social realities, stressing on the beauty of differences and similarities.

Alessandro