La présidentielle de 1981 et l'élection de François Mitterrand vues d'Italie

This essay analyses how the French presidential elections of 1981 and François Mitterrand’s victory were followed and interpreted in Italy, using the press (which, during the 1980s, enjoyed its golden age in Italy, reaching an unprecedented circulation) as a privileged mirror. In particular, the analysis was conducted through a syste- matic review of the main Italian opinion newspapers, Corriere della Sera and La Stampa (accompanied by a non-systematic study of the communist daily newspaper L’Unità). For the first time in the history of the Fifth Republic, the left conquers the Élysée, despite the rift between the PCF and the PS, showing the possibility of political change and the vitality of the Fifth Republic’s institutions. This outcome inevitably draws the attention of Italian observers, struggling with a «stuck» and deeply troubled political and party context, struggling to leave behind the heavy legacy of terrorism and the years of turmoil. The victory of the Socialist candidate is gradually being presented in Italy as the natural outcome of a dynamic country and the massive aspiration of the French for economic and social renewal. It’s impossible not to read a comparison with the Italian political scene, which – compared to France – seems to lag behind on the three fronts of politics, communication and institutions. The crisis of parties and the impasse of the political system multiply voices in Italy calling for a reform of a «stuck» system, with a strong parliamentary system and a weak government, seemingly legitimizing the French experience at the precise moment when the concrete possibility of a political change and the end of the right-wing monopoly over the Fifth Republic’s institutions demonstrate its vitality and anything but authoritarian nature. The reaffirmation of the principle of alternation and shared ownership of the Fifth Republic between the right and the left, following the election of François Mitterrand in 1981, contributes to reopening the debate on electoral and institutional reform in Italy. This is also due to the novelty represented by the first governments led by non-Christian Democrat politicians, proposing a series of reforms aimed at strengthening the executive, including the direct election of the President of the Republic by universal suffrage.