When a book bears a strong, almost brutal title like Who Killed Politics, it inevitably captures the attention. The question almost seems to come out of a courtroom or a judicial investigation, and in fact this is precisely the spirit that runs through Emanuele Cristelli‘s book: recounting the decline of Italian politics as if it were the scene of a crime. Not a provocation for its own sake, but an attempt to understand – with method, rigour and personal involvement – what is broken in the relationship between citizens and institutions.

‘Politics is not dead, because it is a human need and cannot die out,’ the author explains. “What is dead is a certain way of experiencing it: the mass parties, the sections, the daily militancy. Over the last fifteen years, I realised that it was necessary to investigate this decline like a crime scene, to understand who and what had worn down citizens’ trust in democracy’.

At the heart of the book – which has a preface by Luigi Marattin – are seven ‘cognitive misunderstandings’ that have accompanied the crisis of representation. Of these, one according to Cristelli is particularly corrosive: the mistrust of interest representation. “Cultural plagiarism on the subject of lobbying ,” says Cristelli , “is one of the most serious obstacles. Politics cannot be prepared for everything: the technical contribution of civic, economic and social lobbies is crucial for designing effective policies. If we do not change our perspective, we will continue to have only spot measures, instead of deep and incisive reforms’.

The Constitution brandished as a fetish

The discourse inevitably shifts to the Constitution, which has recently passed its 75th birthday. For Cristelli it remains ‘an indispensable compass’, but too often reduced to slogans. ‘The problem is not its age, but the use made of it. We should bring it back into the daily life of democracy: its principles are very topical, if only we had the courage to translate them into action. Unfortunately, it is shaken like a taboo: at every proposed amendment, we cry out for an authoritarian drift. But the Charter is living flesh and should adapt to the times’.

A similar loss of vitality concerns parties, which with the end of public financing have turned into mere electoral machines. ‘Doing politics has become a luxury for the few,’ the author observes. “This has impoverished politics of intelligence and energy. I do not believe we can recreate the parties of the 20th century, but we can recover their spirit: places of education, of listening, of collective sense’.

The author’s reflection is not abstract, but intertwined with his own personal journey. “I am not a neutral observer: I have experienced politics at first hand, with enthusiasms and disappointments. Leaving Italia Viva was painful but necessary. From there, and from the birth of the Liberal Democratic Party, the conviction matured that nothing can be changed without the courage to get involved. This book is also the child of that biography’.

The fractures of distrust

The generational divide is evident: young people do not seek undefined affiliations, but specific battles, from climate justice to civil rights. “They do not seek a generalist commitment, but specific battles: environment, rights, technology. Current politics is rejecting this model. We need to build tools that make vertical activism compatible with the horizontal vision of democracy. And consistency is needed: young people do not ask for slogans, they ask for seriousness’.

Cristelli also identifies three historical caesuras that have dug deep furrows: Tangentopoli, which fuelled populism; the 2008 crisis, which showed the impotence of politics; and the advent of social media, which deluded citizens into thinking they could represent themselves. “Thus, mediation, the heart of democracy, was perceived as useless, when in fact today it is more necessary than ever”.

It is no coincidence that the style chosen for the book avoids pamphlet-like tones. ‘Screaming is no longer needed,’ he says, ‘It was the constant shouting that emptied politics of credibility. I have chosen a reasoned language that adheres to reality, because this is the only way to rebuild trust’.

An invitation to get back into the game

The final message is neither an indictment nor a resigned diagnosis, but an invitation: ‘We cannot stop at the diagnosis: we need hands, energy, trust. Democracy, though ill, remains the best instrument to govern the complexity of our lives. But without conscious participation, the vacuum risks being filled by authoritarian shortcuts. It is a call to get back into the game: each in his or her own piece of the world, because the very quality of our democracy depends on the cultural idea we have of politics’.

Emanuele Cristelli’s reflection is part of a debate that does not only concern insiders, but anyone who cares about the quality of democratic life in our country. Chi ha ucciso la politica is a book that does not just denounce, but tries to point a way, made of awareness and participation. This is why we advise our readers to read it, discuss it and compare it with their own experiences: because democracy, as the author reminds us, is never a good that is guaranteed once and for all.