Berlusconi of the Left? Nichi Vendola and the narration of the new Italian Left

The paper discusses the political rise of Nichi Vendola, the charismatic founder of the new party of the Italian Left Sinistra, Ecologia e Liberta' (Left, Ecology and Freedom) and governor of the region of Apulia in southern Italy. It argues that many similarities exist with the forms of personalist and populist performances adopted by Berlusconi and Vendola, even though they have opposing aims and values. The dilemma Vendola faces his the extent to which his communicative arftulness can really fill the cultural void of the post-communist Italian Left.