A Sexist's Wet Dream: Silvio Berlusconi's Map of Europe

Winston Churchill once said that Russia was a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. I have no clue why the old guy had such difficulties deciphering Russian nature. If there is a country in Europe I would use this brilliant sentence for, it definitely is Italy. It’s a country strangled by controversies. It’s considered an advanced First World democracy, yet its political life resembles a gerontophile soap opera more fitting to the last days of Imperial Rome. It was the major cradle of European Renaissance, yet it was politically paralyzed by its lack of unity and suffocating provincialism.

Contemporary Italy looks as a reflection of a geographic rather than a cultural idea. But so do Spain and Belgium. Yet none of these countries produced anything even remotely resembling Silvio Berlusconi. He’s a truly unique, Italian specialty. From his plastic surgery inspired looks to his patriarchal macho attitude peppered with outrageously sexist jokes, there is a common vibe that is unmistakably Apennine. What is shocking is the lack of other Italian qualities that can compensate the bad traits. If only he could, for example, host a good cooking show, or make sculptures, or discover some obscure satellite of Jupiter.

There is another, even more shocking paradox – all Italians I know are absolutely against him. And if I have to trust their words, everybody they know is also against him. Yet the old guy is still in power and not because of a weird coup d’état. He got elected. Several times. Probably by the same people that swear on their mothers graves they are opposing him at any cost. The sad thing is his public image is close to become a synonym for an Italian man worldwide. And that’s sad, no matter from which side of the political spectrum you see it.

gladiator

no the reason why he's there is a controversial system of voting, that put him in power even if he got actually elected by a part of Italy corresponding more or less to the population of north-east of Italy. It is true that Italy has his controversies and problem, and it is true that Berlusconi is sadly ruining Italy's image...what I don't like is that this is, for other countries, an excuse to badly criticise italians. people go on talking about italian life style, about our problem, about our flaws, about the reason why Berlusconi is there and so on...without having ever actually lived in Italy and without knowing the system. I would say, you've got all the freedom to criticise Berlusconi, but you shouldn't identify him with italians (so does everyonr who doesn't beleive italians when they say they are against him). go to live in Italy few years (not on holiday) to earn the right to talk about italian problems....see them with your own eys, rather than buying everything media say

alphadesigner

You've got a some points. But also keep in mind that the project this map is part of is a satirical take on national stereotypes, not a scientific study. I don't think you have to live in a country to talk about its problems, that's not a right to be earned, it's just a right of having an opinion and we all have it. Very often it's the actual inhabitants of a country who lack objectivity due to variety of reasons, so living there, even for a hundred years, won't necessarily bring clarity. Prominent political figures do say a lot of things about a nation's mentality and are often used as metaphors to refer to the nation itself. Especially people like Berlusconi, whose position of power isn't a mere glitch in the system, like it or not, he is emblematic of Italian political life (together with the "controversial" voting system and everything you refer to).

gladiator

well, I wasn't disrespecting your opinion, but just saying that I think it doesn't take into consideration reality, but only a portion of it, which is what you get from media. I honestly don't see how a man can represent 80 milion of people....furthermore, he wasn't there for his ideologies, but because he was meant to be a successful buisness man, to lead italy economics as well as he did with his economic empire....this is why people elected him in the first place...which was obviously sadly wrong....

alphadesigner

I'm sorry if I let you with the impression that I consider Berlusconi an all-inclusive symbol for Italy. I don't and it's actually impossible because as you pointed out, the population is differently represented and the balance of power is often, if not always, shifted to a specific group. This is true for many countries in the world actually, not only Italy. I only wanted to point out that the question of how exactly the Italian political system contributes to this shift is purely structural and internal for the country itself, hence one can argue that if there's a part of the population that feels underrepresented, it is either because it's very small and powerless or perhaps very numerous but still lacking the coherency to contribute to a real change (because of philosophical, religious or other divisions). Mentioning that there's a voting system in place that prevents this group from taking power doesn't automatically invalidate the status quo or excludes this group from participating in their country's political life. Voting systems can be changed and modified accordingly in order to compensate for a certain side effect and if the demand for this change is high, it can be made. It's really about reaching the tipping point and nothing else, otherwise we can just reduce the polemic to excuses and theoretical assumptions. This current map doesn't ridicule the group of Italian society that wants change, it only deals with a character who - because of this group's inability and (probably) incompetence to fight effectively - managed to propel himself to the top over and over again. Being on top of a country makes you a symbol, that's the definition of the head-of-state. He may not be all-inclusive and a significant part of the population might not be among his active supporters but he symbolizes the prevailing philosophy that drives the engine of this country politically. If he didn't, he wouldn't be on top of everybody, despite the scandals, despite the constant corruption accusations, despite his extravagant behavior and ridiculous statements. And thank the universe he's now gone, although that doesn't automatically solve the problem. Italy needs more young people in politics, not only on demonstrations on the streets but actively involved in Italian political life. I'm sure there are many already doing it but obviously they are not enough.

11 comments

Newest | Oldest

Polixenes Hephaestus

haha...this is ingenious!

Joe C.

Hi, do Italians then generally think that German women are fat ? Because I was talking to this guy from Naples when I was staying in London. He was staying at the same place as me. And somehow the topic came to that black women have fat asses. And then he said to me: "The black women have fat ass, but it's hard and the German women have fat asses but it's soft." I'm from Germany by the way. I never knew people from Italy think that way about German women. Because I also know Italians here in Germany and I never heard them say that. But maybe the view in Italy is different.

I think you take this map way too seriously. Perhaps you should read the title again. ;)

Michele Marino

Bunga Bunga map :)ps: look at Angry Bunga: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xONW8iL3V7w.

Manuel Giofrè

La mappa del mondo, vista the Berlusconi! In Germania ci vedono così.

Keti Gozalishvili

Berlusconi map :))).

Francesca

Hi ~.~ I'm Italian as well; I don't like him, and I never ever vote him since I can vote... I assume that all Italian you know are expat...they escaped the situation...My grandmother or my aunt vote him and like him, also now....One against two. That's way he's there. Francesca

Alphadesigner Blog

A Sexist’s Wet Dream: Silvio Berlusconi’s Map of Europe

More Blog Articles

Queridos Gays

The Flat Earth According to US Republicans

The Spanish Yes