The decline of populism? Crisis of trust and parties of political alternative in modern Italy

Abstract

The phenomenon of populism has been thoroughly studied during previous decades, however, not many researchers analyze those socio-political processes and practices that develop against the backdrop of the arrival of populist parties in the government. At the same time, “populism in power” entails a profound transformation of the populist parties themselves from within and affects the state of society, dissatisfied with the unwillingness of populist parties to immediately fulfill all the promises made by the leaders on the way to power, leading to failure. Thirty years of experience of populism in Italy and the presence of populists in power over the past five years (2018-2024) allow us to assert that: 1) these parties, which positioned themselves as parties of a political alternative and criticized representative democracy, traditional parties and political class, did not bring the promised innovations into politics – new forms of democracy and participation, greater involvement of citizens in politics, and new practices, including internal party ones; 2) the disappointment of society from the ideological transformation of populist parties, unfulfilled promises, and “conciliatory” policies in relation to mainstream parties can contribute to further distrust in political parties and the abandonment of political action as such in favor of a different repertoire – direct social action, providing a horizontal type of trust and solving socio-economic problems in the short term through grassroots social interaction. Direct social action has become an alternative to the manifestation of political protest and other types of political action. Society is being depoliticized, the level of political activity is decreasing, and at the same time the degree of horizontal integration and the use of direct social action of a latent protest nature is increasing, allowing to expect its possible future politization. The paper contributes to the debate on the evolution of the phenomenon of populism and its socio-political consequences.