A few days ago, Sergio Mattarella, in his speech at the meeting with the diplomatic corps, gave a speech that we should listen to more carefully than we usually do. It was not the usual exercise in institutional rhetoric, but a lucid and concerned analysis of the state of democracy, in Italy and in the world. A speech that resembles a cry of alarm, addressed not only to politicians, but to all of us. Because if there’s one thing we should have learned from history, it’s that democracy is never safe.
The President of the Republic did not limit himself to observing our borders. He pointed the finger at those authoritarian regimes which, behind the façade of strength, hide a chronic inability to respond to the needs of the people. But the real blow was struck against the new “masters of the world”, the global billionaires who, with their cryptocurrencies and their financial empires, are emptying states of their fundamental prerogatives: the control of money and the monopoly on the use of force. People like Elon Musk – and he’s not the only one – don’t answer to anyone, yet they dictate the rules of entire economic sectors and, consequently, of our lives.
But woe betide you if you think that the danger only comes from the outside. The tenant of the Quirinale has put his finger on the most painful wound: abstentionism. A democracy without people, he said, is a democracy “of ghosts”. An image that gives you chills, but which perfectly describes the state of things. We don’t vote, we don’t participate, we no longer believe in institutions. And in doing so, we lend a hand to those who really want to demolish democracy.
And it doesn’t end here. Mattarella denounced the growing polarization, which transforms every discussion into a war between friends and enemies. Even on the most crucial issues – climate change, vaccines, science – we are unable to find common ground. It is a slow suicide, which occurs while the middle class, a historic guarantee of balance and stability, is being eroded by unsustainable inequalities.
Yet, it is precisely the “big middle class”, to put it in de Rita’s words, with its workers in the various sectors, its freelance professions, its administration officials, its entrepreneurs and traders in trade, crafts and entrepreneurship, representing a pillar of democracy. Without it, society becomes radicalized, dividing the population between a privileged elite and an indistinct (and poor) mass of excluded people. And we cannot ignore that wage equity, a fundamental element for true social cohesion, is not yet guaranteed for everyone. The disparity between categories, sectors and, in particular, between genders, remains a clear vulnerability. And no one says anything. Mattarella himself recognized: «We feel the fears that run through our societies and, sometimes, darken the future. But we are also aware of solid and comforting realities. Trade, craftsmanship and entrepreneurship that is born and develops in small and medium-sized areas are part of the vital fabric of the community. Backbone of values and connections that characterizes our economic and social model and that makes our path safe, facing new challenges.”
Great wealth and immense accumulations of transactional resources, especially financial ones, are not only a source of inequality, but also a real danger for democracy. The risk of the disappearance of the middle class is a wake-up call that we can no longer ignore: without it, the stage is ripe for radicalization.
The head of state, however, does not limit himself to the diagnosis. His speech is also an invitation to rediscover the value of trust, commitment, that sense of community that we have lost along the way. Democracy is not just made up of laws and procedures: it is passion, it is belonging. And if today it seems to us that everything is falling apart, perhaps it is because we have stopped really believing in it.
Italy has an urgent task: to return to being the protagonist of an idea of peace and international cooperation. We cannot accept a world dominated by permanent conflict and disorder. As the President said, the Italian presidency of the G7 has shown that, despite everything, we can still make a difference. The speech ends with an invitation which is, at the same time, a warning. The State must be equal to the sacrifices and daily commitment of millions of Italians. Those Italians who, even in difficulty, keep families, businesses and communities going. It is up to us to demonstrate that we deserve this democracy, because taking care of democracy is not a luxury. It’s a necessity.
