Populism and common sense

Anyone who confronted with the phenomenon of populism, took the risk of getting lost in a vortex of defining attempts, proposals for “operationalisation”, studies on the most disparate objects, comparisons and so on. The attention to this object of study has generally been stronger from scholars who consider it a problem or the result of the democratic system crisis. For the minority of defenders instead, the virtues of populism include: being the “ordinary people’s democracy” against the institutionalized politics; paying attention to the interests of the many against those of the few; enhancing the civic and political experience of small places, such as villages or neighbourhoods, against an ideal and distant concept of citizenship; the bottom-up construction of the popular will without any party intermediation; the conception of popular sovereignty as the substance of the political body. In conclusion, it values the “directness” of politics, or the sincerity and transparency required by ordinary citizens against the attitude of representative institutions and parties to the compromise and opacity. It is seen as a threat but also as a possible corrective action for a policy that has somehow moved too far away from the people. Although the object of study has its roots in a distant past, the real “boom” of interest is recent, indeed very recent. Starting from a literature review, this work has the purpose of investigating how the term “populism” is conveyed by the Italian press today. The empirical data is composed by some of the best-selling newspapers selected on their political orientation. The analysis had the intent to give a logical interpretation of the content of the texts, as well as examine the discursive typologies and linguistic style. What has emerged is a relationship between academic production and information field: these circles, in fact, at least in this circumstance, do not seem to be clearly separated.