The narcissistic celebrity leader: Berlusconi’s communication style and its impact on Italian leadership

ABSTRACT

Among the many facets of Silvio Berlusconi’s extensive political career, his communication strategies and techniques stand out as particularly significant. This prominence is largely due to his dual role as a media tycoon and a flamboyant, narcissistic figure, both of which heavily influenced his public communication style. This article delves into Berlusconi’s communication approach as a critical element of his leadership. It examines how Berlusconi shaped his leadership image over the decades, focusing on his personality, storytelling, and the media and political marketing tools he employed to project his persona. Furthermore, in its concluding part, it investigates whether recent Italian leaders, particularly those who emerged in the 2010s after Berlusconi’s tenure, exhibit traits traceable to Berlusconi’s innovations. The article’s initial sections explore Berlusconi’s personality profile, his narrative techniques, and the media and political marketing strategies he used. The penultimate section highlights the interplay of these elements, showing how they created a distinctive, innovative leadership style linked to various facets of celebrity politics, sometimes in extreme forms. This section also addresses the legacy of Berlusconi’s leadership style, proposing that it served as a model for later Italian leaders, influencing their communication and image-building strategies. The article concludes by noting how, as a consequence, Berlusconi’s leadership model has been a transformative factor in Italian politics.

KEYWORDS:

• Silvio Berlusconi
• Matteo Renzi
• Giorgia Meloni
• Matteo Salvini
• Celebrity Politics
• Celebrity Leadership

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Faenza, R. (Director) (2011), Silvio Forever [Documentary], Ad Hoc Film and Technicolor SA.

2. The expression ‘take to the field’ is normally translated into Italian as ‘scendere in campo’: literally, ‘to descend into the field’.

3. Jarrold Post distinguished between two postures of narcissistically wounded individuals: ‘mirror-hungry’ leaders and ‘ideal-hungry’ followers. The former ‘whose basic psychological constellation is the grandiose self, hunger for confirming and admiring responses to counteract their inner sense of worthlessness and lack of self-esteem’. The latter ‘can experience themselves as worthwhile only so long as they can relate to individuals whom they can admire for their prestige, power, beauty, intelligence, or moral stature. They forever search for such idealized figures’ (2015).

4. Faenza, R. (Director) (2011), Silvio Forever (cit.)

5. See note 3.

6. Meeting of the liberal component of Berlusconi’s party, the Popolo della Libertà (People of Freedom, PDL), November 2011.

7. The ‘Bagaglino’ is a theatre company that started staging satirical shows in the 1980s. These shows primarily focused on impersonating and mocking political figures and aired on Rai and Mediaset networks. They garnered significant public acclaim but also faced consistent criticism for their perceived vulgarity and perceived alignment with political authorities.

8. ‘Mixer’, Rai 2, Gianni Minoli interview with Silvio Berlusconi, 21 February 1994.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sofia Ventura

Sofia Ventura is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Bologna. Her specializations include Comparative Politics, Italian and French politics, Political Communication, and Political Leadership.