Month: January 2022

On 24th January 2022 the Populism in Action Project’s Principal Investigator Prof. Daniele Albertazzi was quoted in an article by The Financial Times‘ Amy Kazmin, Davide Ghiglione, Silvia Sciorilli Borrelli and Ben Hall.

The article entitled “The Draghi dilemma: Italian presidential election risks turbulence” explores considerations in the lead up to the Italian Presidential election which was decided on 30th January 2022.

Prof. Daniele Albertazzi said:

“The situation is going to become messy…”

To read the article in full visit The Financial Times website here

In an update published by the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Isabell Hoffmann, Populism in Action’s Principal Investigator Prof. Daniele Albertazzi is quoted at length on his thoughts regarding the current Italian Presidential election.

He began by telling her that:

With Berlusconi, nothing is impossible, but I only gave it a small chance. So, my answer would be: no, Berlusconi did not have a realistic chance to become the next president of Italy. The reason for this is that a President Berlusconi was not even in the interest of the leaders of the right-wing coalition, his own political camp.

To read the interview in full, see the update on the Bertelsmann Stiftung website

On the 23rd January 2022 Populism in Action’s Principal Investigator Prof. Daniele Albertazzi provided extensive insight to readers of The Financial Times in the article “Berlusconi abandons long-shot bid for Italian presidency” by Amy Kazmin.

Reflecting on Silvio Berlusconi’s decision to withdraw his candidacy for the Italian Presidency Prof. Albertazzi stated:

“[Berlusconi’s candidacy] was a hard sell and he has obviously come to the conclusion that it cannot be done…”

Commenting on the state of the wider race for the role, and the possibility of Prime Minister Mario Draghi being on contention for the role, Prof. Albertazzi said:

“He wouldn’t be there just to unveil monuments and make speeches — he would exert real influence… Many individuals in parliament worry that picking Draghi means having fresh elections in the spring and they absolutely want to avoid that.”

To read the full article visit The Financial Times website here.

On 14/01/22 Populism in Action’s Principal Investigator Prof. Daniele Albertazzi was quoted in the article “Italy’s Berlusconi mobilises media empire behind his presidential bid” by Reuter’s Gavin Jones.

Prof. Albertazzi reflecting on Berlusconi’s actions, said that:

“He wants to build momentum, it’s not strictly needed but he clearly thinks it can be useful…”

The article can be read in full here.

On 2nd January 2022 our Principal Investigator Prof. Daniele Albertazzi was quoted in the article “Italy’s Embattled Berlusconi Eyes the Presidency, His Biggest Prize Yet” written for The Wall Street Journal by Eric Sylvers.

Commenting on Silvio Berlusconi’s prospects Prof. Albertazzi reflected:

“I’m sceptical Berlusconi can pull this off, but it is very difficult to guess with him because he defies all predictions… However the race for the presidency goes, this won’t be the political end of Berlusconi, the end will come when Berlusconi is underground.”

Read the article in full here.