With the landslide victory of Donald Trump, the writer says he has felt an almost uncontrollable urge to share his story of when as a young man in Italy he was a supporter of the controversial Silvio Berlusconi.
ONCE upon a time in Europe, just after graduating from university, I used to look at a buffoon-turned-politician with a certain sympathy.
Back then, I had started working in an NGO engaged in development projects in the so-called South. Yet my sympathy, or perhaps my infatuation for, that politician and multiple-term prime minister of my country put me into a corner within the organisation I was working with.
I was a sort of "black sheep", a strange guy who had embraced lofty (and progressive) goals, but who also moderately supported a very atypical politician, a joker, a womaniser who was running his political machine as if he were managing his media empire.
Unsurprisingly, this very unconventional politician embraced right of centre policies. He was an entertainer, but also someone promising transformative changes to the country.
He was often derided for his unstable politics, in spite of a very high degree of prosperity being enjoyed by more than half of the nation.
People, or at least a good segment of the population, were tired of the status quo. Citizens were fed up with a system full of inefficiencies, especially in the civil service. With the landslide victory of Donald Trump in the United States election, I have felt an almost uncontrollable urge to share my story of when, as a young man, I was a supporter, albeit not totally uncritically, of Silvio Berlusconi.
Fast forward to the present, I consider myself a progressive not only in the principles and values that I try to embrace in my personal and professional life, but also politically.
It has been a long journey since my former political credo had starting crumbling.
I started reading papers that were from a different outlook. I was open to self-criticism, but without totally giving up all of my instinctive beliefs about the role of government and policy making.
I still strongly believe in subsidiarity, the idea that governments closer to the people are better positioned to facilitate change in the most crucial matters.
My criticism of the role of big government has been tempered by a new understanding that big societal changes require big state interventions. But such a big state must not oppress people's creativity and inventiveness.
As a European citizen living abroad, I still consider myself very aligned with the European Popular Party (EPP), the umbrella group at the European Union level that brings together moderately center-right parties in the member states of our union. I now find the policies of the EPP to be way too right of centre.
They are almost identical to those on the hard right so much in vogue in places like Italy or Hungary. It’s worth noting, however, that Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whom I respect as politician, but with whom I share very little, is in a different league than Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, and for the better.
My values have not changed since I became a progressive. I still dislike authoritarian states, of which there are many in the Asia-Pacific. I believe in asserting human rights and freedoms, and in this regard, there are many challenges here in the region.
Yet people tend to like unconventional politicians, and in the case of Italy, Berlusconi was a true trendsetter even if he never came close to threatening the nation’s solid democratic institutions.
India and Indonesia also stand as clear cases, even if it is possible that new President Prabowo Subianto may turn himself into a much more pragmatic and moderate leader.
We are in an era where charisma trumps reason-based discussions and people become hypnotised by social media.
Young people do not read anymore. Young people at the university level do not know the difference between an article and an opinion piece.
In my training in the Asia Pacific, now online, I have seen that students have no clue how a key regional organisation like Asean works. Apparently, they also have little interest in understanding more about the complex issues affecting the world.
It is worrisome that while amazing youths strongly campaign for climate action and biodiversity preservation, the vast majority of youngsters really are out of touch, disengaged and distracted.
We need to find ways to get back to basics, encouraging young people to show curiosity and open-mindedness.
We need to help new generations to be informed, learn to form opinions and listen to those who do not share our own ideas. To fight disinformation and disenchantment among youths, we need to help them get involved in civic life with an open attitude focused on listening and understanding other's views.
A great way to begin doing so is to create reading groups and promote volunteerism. It is not only about pushing one solution, but rather promoting a variety of ideas that engage young people to develop a culture of tolerance that also eschews group thinking.
Crucially, politics is never simply black and white, but consists of both in varying shades.
I wish for young people to embrace a new culture of interest in public life and politics that is driven much less by partisanship, instead being guided by the belief that it is worth spending time with those whom we disagree politically.
Hopefully, the new political leaders in both the South and North can embrace the same attitude. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
Simone Galimberti writes about human rights, regional integration and youths in the Asia-Pacific.
