Governing Fear

Gianfranco Baldini is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Bologna, where he teaches Parties and Pressure Groups in the European Union and the European Political System. His recent publications include Elections, Electoral Systems and Volatile Voters, with A. Pappalardo (Palgrave 2009), and La Francia di Sarkozy, co-edited with Marc Lazar (Il Mulino, 2007).

• List of AbbreviationsChronology of Italian Political Events, 2008Compiled by Rinaldo VignatiIntroduction: Governing FearGianfranco Baldini and Anna Cento BullChapter 1. Chronicle of a Victory Foretold: The 13–14 April General ElectionsPiergiorgio CorbettaChapter 2. Center Left, Radical Left, Anti-Politics, and Center: Four Oppositions in Search of a ComebackJames L. Newell Chapter 3. Alemanno’s Surprising Victory in RomeGiovanni Di FrancoChapter 4. The Only Man in Charge? The First Eight Months of Berlusconi’s Fourth GovernmentFrancesco MarangoniChapter 5. Russia’s Trojan Horse in Europe? Italy and the War in GeorgiaMaurizio CarboneChapter 6. Still Dying at Work: The New Consolidation Act on Health and Safety in the WorkplaceElisabetta GualminiChapter 7. Women in Institutions: Progress in the Economic Sector, Stagnation in Politics?Alessia Donà Chapter 8. Mariastella Gelmini’s Education Policy: Cuts without a Cultural ProjectGiancarlo Gasperoni Chapter 9. The Italian Health System: Cost Containment, Mismanagement, and PoliticizationFranca MainoChapter 10. A Story Foretold of a Toxic Mix in CampaniaEleonora PasottiChapter 11. The Northern League’s Victory: Immigration and Citizenship in the Veneto RegionJacqueline AndallChapter 12. The Privatization of AlitaliaGrant Amyot Documentary AppendixCompiled by Debora MantovaniAbout the Editors and Authors

“Governing Fear: Italian Politics 2008 is the twenty-forth volume of the essential guide for students of contemporary Italian affairs. As such, it more than lives up to the series’ tradition for concise and timely analysis. In its coverage of the year, it takes us through Berlusconi's electoral victory over a divided center left to show how the Lega Nord has been able to set the political agenda and how a former neo-Fascist leader became mayor of Rome. The book is more than just an analysis of headline events, however; it digs into the evolving fabric of Italian social life as well to show how the changing role of women, successive waves of educational and health reform, and simmering conflicts around Naples and Alitalia reflect profound underlying dynamics. Scholars will find this book an essential resource and interested readers, a rich buffet.”  ·   Professor Erik Jones, Johns Hopkins Bologna Center