Of B’s and Stings: The Bush, Blair and Berlusconi Jokes Across English and Italian

Political jokes may be considered revealing of the freedom and tolerance of a system of government: whether “whispered jokes” told in secret by people endangering their own lives or freedom or harmless witticisms freely circulated orally and through the written word, they offer an unofficial, countercultural view of society, with particular reference to the leading politicians and systems of government. They highlight the contradictions inherent in any political situation, between the ideal principles and the reality, and very often lay bare the flaws of personality or doctrine leading up to a political failure. They may oversimplify, as is usual in a popular genre meant for mass consumption, but even if they do, they at least succeed in deflating pomposity and turn drama into bittersweet comedy. In the western world of the enlightened states, traditionally inspired by the principles of democracy and freedom of thought, the political joke can be mostly regarded as a light, uncommitted entertainment not intended to change things, only to make them appear funny. To laugh at the high and mighty, the great rulers of this world, caught in trivial or even embarassing moments, or ridiculed through fictitious acts of dumbness and corruption, is the pleasure of the common people. This paper sets out to analyze the verbal and semantic mechanisms of humour used in the English and Italian jokes featuring George W. Bush, Tony Blair and Silvio Berlusconi, and explore the way in which these texts and their humorous devices may reflect a culture-specific style of denigrating politicians and their policies. The question this paper seeks to answer is whether these politicians have been portrayed in a similar way across English and Italian jokes according to the universal figure of the underdog or whether some national-specific traits may have differently shaped the political humour made at their expense.