The ‘electoral presidentialization’ of Silvio Berlusconi and Boris Johnson: Chaos, controversy, and lost chances

 This article tests Poguntke and Webb’s (2005, 2013) theory of ‘electoral presidentialization’  through a comparison of Silvio Berlusconi and Boris Johnson. Johnson and Berlusconi were particular examples of ‘electoral presidentialization’, where dominance lies in power as an  election ‘winner’ and ‘mediatised leader’. This is highly contingent and reliant on continuous  validation; these two leaders failed to translate electoral ‘autonomy’ into concrete and  lasting change. Utilising the three presidentialization ‘faces’ we identify three crucial weaknesses. First, their  own electoral and mediatized focus created a pressure to permanently campaign and  generate conflict, driving a ‘politics of spectacle’ that distracted from the politics of  governing. Second, the centrality of their personality left them exposed to personal scrutiny,  which increasingly focused on corruption, wrongdoing, and irregularities. Third, despite  electoral command, their ‘presidentialized’ style rested on fragile party and coalition  dynamics, leading to volatility and internal conflict