Francesco Merlo considers abuse of the term 'the people'

"Nothing but abuse in the name of the people!", notes the Italian editorialist, referring to Silvio Berlusconi's new party, The Italian People's Party for Freedom. "To give his party a name, Berlusconi chose a now insignificant word that doesn't mean anything ... . Nobody knows how to define the people. It isn't Marx's class ..., or the ultras of the stadiums, or the public of America's democracy, or television viewers, or the consumer market, or a spontaneous gathering, or the Web community. Nor is this a country at war, a third state, a question of plebs, or the protagonists of revolutionary songs with tunes sometimes nostalgic, sometimes ridiculous. As for the term popular, it has even less meaning than people ... . This signifies something widespread, of cross-class consensus, considered nice. It is in this respect that Berlusconi is a popular figure."

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