The Clean Hands of Populism: The Paradox of the Italian “Tangentopoli”

The corruption scandal of Tangentopoli broke out in Italy in early 1992, playing a capital role in the re-shaping of Italian politics and economics. The claim for legality boosted those reforms that turned the Italian political system from a parliamentary regime to a de facto presidential state. Under the quest for legality, it was also possible to dismantle the active state participation in the country’s economy, so as to also practice in Italy the neo-liberal roll back of the state. Tangentopoli is also characterized by the paradoxical aspect of boosting penal populism. Despite corruption concerned both the political and the entrepreneurial spheres, no meaningful anti-corruption law was passed after 1992.