The Symbolic Abolition of Politics, the Virtue of Necessity

The recent debt crisis in the Eurozone has led to austerity reforms that present many common features. Going beyond the debate on their efficiency and political consequences, this article aims at understanding the specific discourse that supports these measures. The context of crisis is understood as exacerbating a dominant depoliticized discourse. The article explores three depoliticization strategies : embedding the discourse in technical terms, and referring to globalization and the EU as external constraints that justify the reforms. The analysis focuses on the Italian case, considered as paradigmatic and analyzed through 41 speeches made by Mario Monti during his mandate. The findings show a tendency to present the EU both as a (voluntary) constraint and as the right place to deal with the challenges of globalization. The technical dimension of the discourse is expressed through a clinical metaphor of public finance.