MARK LILLA
63
crumbling of the Soviet empire.
Closer to the mark are those cntlcs who see in
Cllore
yet another
splinter phenomenon, as representing an amorphous and rather incoher–
ent
sillistra post-tlltto,
or what has also been called
fa sillistra qllafllllqllista
(the "whatever" left). Its writers - and, one supposes, its readers - mock
everyone in politics without taking responsibility for any particular doc–
trine. They also display an adolescent contempt for serious discourse that
encourages the reader to take pop culture more seriously than institu–
tional politics. For example, every week the back cover of
Cllore
is de–
voted to a list of "the things worth living for" as voted by its readers.
The list is topped by "love" and "friends," moves into politics ("the end
of Andreotti," "Craxi begs our pardon"), and then descends into soccer
teams, rock groups, comic book heroes, and women's private parts.
It
is hard not to sympathize with the
qllafllllqllislllo
of
Cllore's
readers.
Nowhere in Western Europe does liberal democracy seem less liberal, less
democratic; nowhere does serious politics seem so exclusively the preserve
of criminals and fools. But one cannot help feeling that the paper's
satirical deflation of politics came along at just the wrong moment.
Given Italy's recent history, it is clear that if the liberalization of its
institutions and culture is to happen, it will not come from the valiant
but insignificant liberal center; rather it must await the liberalization of
the left. Yet just as one sees signs of this beginning,
Cllore
has invented a
new and popular mode of resisting it. Its weapon is comic levelling. The
paper mocks Stalinism and capitalism equally. Saddam Hussein and
George Bush appear equally contemptible. And although
Cllore
despises
Prime Minister Andreotti and the emotionally unstable President
Francesco Cossiga (both DC), its preferred target is clearly Socialist
leader Bettino Craxi.
Cllore
cannot forgive Craxi for joining coalitions
with the DC in the 1980s, and even serving for a time as prime minister.
They treat Craxi's party as a non-ideological personality cult with no
roots in the socialist tradition (which is not entirely off the mark). But
any hope of wresting power from the DC and liberalizing the regime
must pass through a coalition with the Socialists, as even the
migfioristi
in
the PDS have recognized. But for
Cllore
and its readers, this would be
the ultimate treason against
fa sillistra:
better fifty years more in the desert
than making peace with Craxi. As editor Michele Serra has written, if it
takes two
to
tango, and Craxi is the only available partner,
Cllore
prefers
to sit out. The Palio Principle once again.
*
Despite its fast-growing circulation,
Cllore's
real influence is difficult
to gauge; it remains just one among countless left-wing publications that
