Although they eventually opted for a different candidate, it was interesting to see how the right-wing Freedom’s People’s Party (PdL) seriously thought about choosing Attilio Romita as its candidate for Apulia’s presidency in the forthcoming regional elections. Mr Romita's face is well known for the Italian public, since he is the journalist who reads the news on the 8pm edition of the main Italian news program, TG1.

Mr Romita would have only been the latest one of a large cohort of TV journalists who have become politicians.  The list includes candidates from both sides of the political spectrum. The centre-right had the idea first when it picked the RAI journalist Fabrizio Del Noce to run as MP. However, the centre-left then really liked this option. In recent years, the left-wing coalition has chosen the RAI journalists David Sassoli, Piero Marrazzo and Lilli Gruber, who have run for a range of positions, from the European Parliament to the presidency of Latium, the region around Rome. Having thought about Romita, the PdL is currently considering asking Magdi Cristiano Allam, formerly deputy editor of the Corriere della Sera newspaper, to run for the presidency of the centre-left-leaning region of Basilicata.

The successes of these journalists-turned-politicians have been mixed. They normally have no problems in being elected (in the 2009 European Elections, Mr Sassoli was the most voted candidate in his constituency), mainly because of their popularity. However, some, such as Ms Gruber, have left office after only one term. Others, such as Mr Marrazzo, fell victims of scandals, which, some commentators have argued, are connected to their lack of training as politicians.

Despite these mixed results, Italian parties seem to have no doubts in continuing to pick journalists and particularly TV ones. According to Jacopo Iacoboni, a political commentator for the Turin-based newspaper La Stampa who has written a colourful piece on this subject, this underlines the weaknesses of Italian political parties. The decision to use the popularity these journalists have for political purposes may underline the parties’ distinctive lack of innovative ideas, which they attempt to hide by recruiting media-friendly personalities.

At the same time, however, this decision says a lot about the way Italian journalists perceive themselves. Partly because of the consolidated tradition of partisan newspapers, partly because of the fact that many careers in RAI are decided by political as much as by professional considerations, Italian journalists often lack a truly independent ethos. The fact that so many journalists end up joining a political party rather than remaining on the outside, in order to be more credible when asking questions, does not discredit the category. This is because Italians know that many journalists are politically linked in any case.

There have, of course, been a number of exceptions to this trend. The most famous one, perhaps, concerns Indro Montanelli, a former editor of Il Giornale who, despite being right-wing, was famously against Silvio Berlusconi in the first days of the latter’s political career. When he was offered by the then President of the Republic, Francesco Cossiga, the possibility to become Life Senator, one of the most prestigious honours in Italy, the journalist famously refused. In his letter to the President he wrote that “unfortunately, I want to be a completely independent journalist, and this prevents me from accepting this honour”. The fact that he is still considered the most famous Italian journalist of all times may have something to do with this short, but very significant statement.