Abstract

This article analyzes the "dramatizing mobilization" of the electorate which took place in the Italian general elections of 2001. The author suggests that the electoral campaign has been focused mainly on the choice "for" or "against" Berlusconi and this may have somehow simplified the voting decision. It could also have stimulated the electoral participation since turnout has been greater than expected. In the center-left, the "dramatizing mobilization" seems to have mainly favoured the new aggregation called "Margherita". In the center-right, the same phenomenon goes a long way towards explaining why the "Casa delle Libertà" coalition has received a number of votes in the "plurality" vote significantly lower than the sum of the votes obtained by its individual parties in the "proportional" vote. Finally, the analysis suggests that the "dramatising mobilisation" brought a positive effect for the center-left coalition, stimulating mostly the vote "against" Berlusconi.