David took down Goliath in Milan, Italy yesterday, as centre-left candidate Pisapia‘s intelligent use of limited election campaign funding conquered hearts and minds in the traditionally right-wing Italian city in a local election which had taken on national significance.
The parts of the Goliaths, for there were two, were played by billionaire Silvio Berlusconi and his candidate for the mayor of Milan millionaire Letizia Moratti. Yet despite the mega-bucks budget, they were both soundly beaten by Pisapia who exploited sparse resources to conduct a campaign which combined the power of social media with the traditional ‘get out and talk to the people’ approach. It worked: Pisapia got 55,1% of the votes to Moratti’s 44,89%.
Berlusconi will find the defeat in his birthplace very hard to swallow, and he will be the last to admit that he was instrumental in handing over Milan to the left. Yet that is the case. Berlusconi’s rhetoric had become so hollow and meaningless that it caused Milan to turn left.
Perhaps if Berlusconi had kept a distance from his candidate Moratti, had not treated the election as a referendum on himself, and if the centre-right’s election campaign has not been characterized by a combination of dirty tricks combined with healthy doses of back-stabbing, Berlusconi would have been crowing today.
Instead, he is crying.
Not only did Berlusconi hand Milan over to his smelly brainless commie adversaries, but his party lost in the constituency in which Berlusconi has his mansion in Milan. In another run-off in Arcore, the Milan suburb where Berlusconi has his house, the centre-left also won convincingly. Perhaps the locals were a little unhappy with someone and his bunga bunga parties lowering the tone of the neighbourhood? One wonders.
ROI
Then there is the return on investment for the candidates. Moratti, who has oodles of cash, threw lots of it into the election campaign. Up to €20 million, according to some reports. But, in the words of the old Beatle song – Money can’t buy you love. And it didn’t.
Winner of the Milan run-off election, and also winner of the first round of voting, Giuliano Pisapia had at his disposal less than a tenth of the amount of election funds mega-bucks Moratti had in her coffers. But Pisapia won, and won handsomely. He also won twice.
How did Pisapia do it? Through a combination of getting out on the streets and connecting with people and a very savvy new media based election campaign. And it worked.
Moratti and Berlusconi, on the other hand, used Adsense ads and traditional media exposure to attempt to transmit their campaign messages. But…
… A) the messages were stale B) they simply did not connect with the people.
Both Moratti and Berlusconi are massively rich, so they have no idea how tough things are for the ‘common’ man in Italy at the moment.
The swing of Milan to the left was a response to this form of ivory tower ignorance.
Berlusconi’s marketing team have obviously stopped telling him the truth and started telling Mr B what he wants to hear, probably because they are afraid to tell him that the Berlusconi brand is finished.
Electric Milan
I was in the centre of Milan yesterday evening along with some friends and their children. The photos below came from Pisapia’s Flickr stream, by the way.
Milan’s Duomo piazza was full of people cheering, chanting and just simply partying. The atmosphere was electric, the air charged with hope, it was as if the city was breathing a huge sigh of relief. Good had challenged evil and won. Good Italy had triumphed over Bad Italy. But there was also a message being sent out by Milan’s partying population, and that message was directed towards scandal ridden Silvio Berlusconi and his virtually static government. The message was: “We’ve had enough of you.”
Berlusconi Reacts
From Bucharest in Romania, Silvio Berlusconi reacted by saying that the people of Milan would regret their decision to paint the city red. A case of sour (red?!) grapes.
Curiously, Berlusconi has recently played down the referendum aspect of the Milan elections, which means he has been dishonest. Italians would respect him much more if he just said, “OK, I tried, I failed – it’s time for Italy to move one. I resign.”, but he won’t. A crowbar will be needed to prize Silvio Berlusconi from the position of Italy’s Prime Minister. Until the crowbar is used, Silvio will continue to crow that he has the mandate of Italy’s people.
After the drubbing this election represents for Berlusconi and his party, quite a number of hands may be reaching for quite a few crowbars, and Silvio may well find himself out on his ear, but he won’t go down without a fight.
Two songs for Berlusconi:
What next? We’ll see. Pisapia may well reveal one or two aspects of Milan’s finances which Berlusconi favourite Moratti would rather have kept hidden.
Don’t Let Milan Down Pisapia
Mr Pisapia – please don’t let the population of Milan down.
Oh, and Berlusconi is being investigated once again – another case of suspected abuse of office.
Adri says
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Alex Roe says
Thanks for popping in Adri.
It’s always good to see new faces.
See you round.
Best,
Alex
Welshcakes Limoncello says
My heart bleedeth.
Heath says
Hi Alex, yep a big day for Milan itself, and a turning point in Italian history. These weeks will be the opening of the ‘end of the Belusconi era’ chapter, “and then He lost Milan, and the people took to the streets like their football team had won”. And Naples also, an incredibe result for other reasons. If the PDL and Lega had any sense they would jettison Silvio to a field trip on Mars as soon as possible, because the longer he stays the more the Right will be destroyed and condemned to the political wilderness for years. Will be interesting to see in future months the movements of the Centre jossling for pole position when the election gun is fired.
In the meantime, lets enjoy the positive vibe in Milan, theres also some great music coming here in July.
Alex Roe says
True, Heath, even if the B man won’t admit it, he’s on his way out.
I doubt he’ll go of his own accord – he’ll have to be pushed.
Both Naples and Milan sent very clear signs to B and his merry band.
The Lega is in trouble too – they’ve stayed close to Silvio and not really got anywhere & Lega grassroots is unhappy too from what I’ve seen and heard.
What you say about B being poison for the PDL is true – and some must be waking up to this fact. It is interesting to note that Berlusconi waded in in both Milan and then Naples and his candidates where soundly beaten in both cities. His ‘brand’ is finished, but I doubt there is anyone in the PDL with enough guts to tell B to go.
As for a successor to B, who knows – none of the current bunch have his charisma, nor his leadership qualities.
Sad in a way, as Berlusconi could have done a lot for Italy, but has spent most of the time faffing around protecting his own back and doing ‘business’. Lots of money wasted too.
I hope Pisapia does set an example, but sorting out the messier aspects of Moratti’s tenure will not be easy, I’m sure – and he does know this.
What great music, BTW??
Cheers,
Alex
heath says
<the Black Crowes jul 07, Ben Harper with Robert Plant end of july, and some lesser mortals in between
Joanne at Frutto della Passione says
Crying indeed. I’ve been having a giggle reading the comments this morning. Really interested to see what Mr. Pisapia does with his mandate, other than giving the Leoncavallo crew free reign over the city of course 😉
Alex Roe says
Yes, B is crying on the inside, no doubt.
Pisapia stated today he’s going to appoint a woman to the post of vice mayor.
The way he managed his campaign resources does bode well for the management of Milan – but I wonder what kind of a mess he’s going to face. Moratti gave lots of her friends lucrative contracts and getting out of them is not going to be easy.
Other worms will spew forth from the can as Pisapia lifts the lid on right wing management of Milan.
Pisapia does not have an easy road ahead, I suspect.
Still, there is more hope for Milan than before.
Best,
Alex