The ‘Electoral Presidentialization’ of Silvio Berlusconi and Boris Johnson: chaos, controversy and lost chances

Worthy, Ben and Bennister, M. (2024) The ‘Electoral Presidentialization’ of Silvio Berlusconi and Boris Johnson: chaos, controversy and lost chances. British Journal of Politics and International Relations , ISSN 1369-1481.

Abstract

This article tests Poguntke and Webb’s (2005, 2013) theory of ‘electoral presidentialization’ through a comparison of Silvio Berlusconi and Boris Johnson. Johnson and Berlusconi were particular examples of ‘electoral presidentialization’, where dominance lies in power as an election ‘winner’ and ‘mediatised leader’. This is highly contingent and reliant on continuous validation; these two leaders failed to translate electoral ‘autonomy’ into concrete and lasting change. Utilising the three presidentialization ‘faces’ we identify three crucial weaknesses. First, their own electoral and mediatized focus created a pressure to permanently campaign and generate conflict, driving a ‘politics of spectacle’ that distracted from the politics of governing. Second, the centrality of their personality left them exposed to personal scrutiny, which increasingly focused on corruption, wrongdoing, and irregularities. Third, despite electoral command, their ‘presidentialized’ style rested on fragile party and coalition dynamics, leading to volatility and internal conflict.

Metadata

Statistics

DownloadsShow export options

Export as XMLJSONCSV

Activity Overview

6 month trend

35Downloads

6 month trend

43Hits

Additional statistics are available via IRStats2.

Archive Staff Only (login required)

Edit/View Item