The (Political) Simple Life

Billionaire media mogul and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has re-consolidated his position of power in Italian politics with the creation of his new right wing bloc-party, the People of Liberty, bringing Italy closer to the formation of a two-party state, as Spontaneous Arising noted over the weekend. (Berlusconi justified the move by claiming that to date he has only wielded "false power.") Though maintaining a critical veneer, the opposition Democratic Party leader Dario Franceschini "said the creation of the People of Freedom party was “positive” because it moves Italy closer towards a two-party system and “simplifies political life,”" as Roman Forum has it.

Business and political elites' desire for the 'simple life' is not confined to Europe. As recently mentioned here, when Hillary Clinton stated that she has "never understood multiparty democracy [because] It is hard enough with two parties to come to any resolution," she perhaps unwittingly echoed the sentiment of former President Bush, who was at least honest enough to admit that things would be a "heckuva lot easier" in a dictatorship. Nor is this desire confined to the West. Defending India's regional parties against "elite intolerance," Seema Mustafa wrote last week: "The regional leaders are just about tolerated, with the elite making no bones about its preference for a two-party system in India." Political, business and media elites the world over clearly perceive a decisive opportunity to consolidate their power in the crisis of global capitalism.