Alberto Bonisoli: M5S's Phantom Culture Minister from NABA

Luigi Di Maio, the Five Star Movement's candidate for Prime Minister, announced a shadow cabinet of 17 phantom ministers days before the 2018 Italian elections, a move widely seen as a marketing stunt. For the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Di Maio selected Alberto Bonisoli, director of NABA (Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti) in Milan, a private art academy known for competing with Brera. Bonisoli, born in 1961 in Mantua, is a manager with expertise in higher education and design, having served as a senior consultant for the Ministry of Education and led the Piattaforma Sistema Formativo Moda since 2013. His appointment signals a shift from the M5S's anti-establishment roots toward technocratic competence. Bonisoli's background contrasts with that of Tomaso Montanari, a prominent art historian and critic previously courted by the M5S, who advocates for traditional conservation and public governance. Bonisoli's stance aligns more with Dario Franceschini's reforms, such as the Art Bonus and museum modernization. However, the phantom cabinet includes contradictions: the candidate for Education, Salvatore Giuliano, helped draft the 'Buona Scuola' reform that the M5S vows to abolish. The article questions whether the M5S's strategy prioritizes image over coherent policy, moving from 'one equals one' to 'one equals another.'