Government Popularity in Italy

Abstract

Abstract Earlier research on government approval in Italy mainly focused on economic accountability of the executives. This chapter estimates a model of government approval over the longest time series available (1995–2018) and merges three lines of inquiry: economic accountability, government performance in the realms of corruption and inequality, and political communication. The authors find a diminished influence of economic valence accountability and a greater role of positional economic concerns expressed by economic inequality, together with a notable impact of political communication. Positional economic grievances appear stronger during ‘exceptional times’, that is the period after the inception of the sovereign debt crisis in 2012.