The construction of contemporary leadership in Italy and France

In contemporary democracies the ascent of political leaders cannot be explained without reference to their communication style and campaign strategies. This paper intends to analyze two different countries, Italy and France, which have recently experienced a remarkable increase of personalization and mediatization of politics. First of all, I will carry out an exploration of similarities and differences in Italian and French electoral campaigns paying special attention to the role of media in the construction of leadership. Then, I will attempt to provide a comparison between the two leaders who have put their marks on recent electoral campaigns: Silvio Berlusconi and Nicolas Sarkozy. Both leaders are credited with a notable expertise in political marketing and news management. The analysis will highlight common aspects, but will also underline those different features allowing us to identify and design at least two distinct types of “mediatized” leadership.