Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has made his TikTok debut in an attempt to appeal to young people in the run-up to a national election this month after the country dropped the voting age.
“Hi guys, here I am,” the 85-year-old said, kicking off his short video on the Chinese-owned social media site, which is more commonly used by teenagers and dominated by dancers and fashion clips.
Berlusconi, who led the Italian government three times, is plotting a political comeback in the poll on 25 September, after the resignation in July of the prime minister, Mario Draghi, plunged the country back into a political crisis.
According to polls, the alliance between Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, Matteo Salvini’s League and Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy are the favourites to win the election.
Berlusconi’s appearance on TikTok is strategic since Italy has lowered the age voters must reach before they are eligible to elect senators from 25 to 18, paving the way for 4 million young adults to gain the right to vote for the upper legislative chamber.
“There are 5 million of you guys on this platform and 60% of you are under 30 years old and I feel a little envious (on not being young) about that,” he added.
Seated as usual behind his desk, the Forza Italia leader said he would use the platform to tell young people how he could transform Italy into “a country that gives you new opportunities and the chance to realise your dreams”.
In a second TikTok video, Berlusconi told a joke about Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden and the pope.
Following the video, the former prime minister reached more than 350,000 followers in less than a day.
Berlusconi is not the only Italian political leader who has developed a taste for TikTok to engage with a younger audience.
On Thursday, another former Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, the leader of the liberal political party Italia Viva (IV), released his first video.
‘‘Many of you know me for the phrase ‘first reaction shock’,” Renzi said, referring to a phrase he uttered during a 2016 interview with the BBC about his reaction after the Brexit vote, which went viral.
‘‘Others, on the other hand, know me as a former prime minister, the youngest in republican history, but, above all, as mayor of the most beautiful city in the world, Florence,’’ he added.
Last month, Renzi, the former secretary of the Democratic party, reached a deal with the centrist leader Carlo Calenda, to ally their two small parties before the general election.
According to many, the move has fractured the centre-left coalition, leaving the door open for the right to win the election.
