By Ernesto GALLI
It has already become a cliché: today in Europe democracies do not enjoy good health and their level of approval is certainly not among the highest (also because, let us remember, they are the only regimes whose popularity can be measured more or less through that rough, but nevertheless significant indicator, which is electoral results. Where there are no elections or they are fraudulent, any measurement of approval towards the political regime is in fact impossible).
However, things here in Europe are as I said: democracies are not liked. In the eyes of their citizens, democracies appear as “cold” regimes, which have no capacity for emotional involvement, do not awaken any real sense of identification and, consequently, no participation. But the reason does not lie only in the concrete difficulties, especially economic ones, which nevertheless exist, in which democratic societies clash, and which are finding it increasingly difficult to keep their promises of well-being and equality. In fact, the current crisis of European democracy also has completely other explanations: for example, the fact that in our democratic regimes every truly agonistic element of politics has now disappeared. There has therefore been a radical sterilization of every aspect of clash, of opposition, and consequently the capacity that democracy, like every political regime, should have to produce a public self-representation has disappeared.
For example, of its power, of a nature even if scenic-spectacular, but always ultimately based on conflict. A self-representation naturally appropriate to the nature of a political regime different from all others, as it actually is, but nevertheless a political regime destined to govern the evil seed of Adam, and not a sung mass.
It is true, then, that democracy rightly has as a historical achievement the fact that it is the regime that does not cut off heads, but counts them. However, the fascinating and terrifying spectacle of the guillotine must be replaced by something else: certainly not as bloody, but which nevertheless has an emotional impact and communicates it.
One of these spectacles, of a symbolic but nevertheless significant character, with which early democratic regimes periodically represented themselves, in an even brutal way, was the election night, during which the defeat of the party that until the day before had been in government was witnessed. The reversal of roles, the ruler overthrown from his throne and suddenly reduced to political non-existence, evoked and corresponded in a way to very ancient models of the folklore of revolt and revenge of European populations (such as the “charivari”). More specifically, once the electoral victory of one camp over another meant, for example, new laws that decided in important ways on the use of collective resources, shifted power, and really changed the lives of people and social groups.
Today, on the contrary, almost nothing remains of all this. At least in Europe. In fact, the rule of democracies is that they are now governed by mediocre political-parliamentary classes, without great ideas, without strength and without personality.
A political class that, moreover, clearly conveys the idea that it is not worth more than that and that it is itself aware of this. Weakened both by the fragile geopolitical weight of their countries, as well as by their bureaucratic and administrative mediocrity, without any strong political mandate, also because they do not have united and motivated electorates behind them. In short, while the demographic profile of the continent and its civic-religious identity are about to change dramatically, while the entire humanist heritage of the European past risks being left to die, flooded by the inclusive-democratic bias of our current educational systems; while our historical ally and American protector has decided to leave us to our fate; while the lack of our satellite systems, our energy sources, our secure supply chains is becoming clear; the democracies of the old continent seem to continue to totter in a kind of sweet sleep.
Our public opinions still seem interested in dealing with the old prejudices of the last century and with the eternal factional divisions. While the world is burning and these are already coming ever closer to our home, in Italy there are still perhaps a majority of those for whom the mere thought of building an armored vehicle is equivalent to destroying an orphanage.
All European political systems are in dire need of decisive leadership with a long-term vision today. They need women and men who make bold decisions and who demand even bolder sacrifices from their fellow citizens, being able to explain the reasons well. Our democracies, therefore, urgently need to change: what else needs to happen to convince us of this? (Corriere della Sera)