present-day policy. If we fail to grapplernwith the Risorgimento (the long historicalrnand ideological process that led tornirational iirdependence and unity in thern19th century) and its aftermath—thern”reconstruction” of Italian people whenrnthe heirs of the Jacobins won the warrnagainst traditional Italians—wc will neverrnbuild a sound “conservative” alliancernto rule the country. And any reformsrnwill be superficial.rnBut even if wc have lost our memory,rnthe March 1994 elections are a smallrnsign of hope. I do not trust elections orrn”new governments” as such, but therndynamics of the spring vote are highlyrnrelevant. Berlusconi was able to forge arnwinning national party because he wasrnclever enough to poll the attitudesrnthroughout Italy. He actually asked peoplernabout their hopes, needs, and feelings.rnIt was on the survey results that hernbuilt his winning agenda.rnThis is obviously a dangerous way tornconduct polities, since it can slip into arntyranny of the masses. But the opinionsrnhave been constructive, and Italiansrnhave displayed a common sense thatrnseems almost unbelievable in the age ofrntelevision. They asked for less government,rnprivate enterprise, sound values,rnand they affirmed the traditional ItalianrnDispatches fromrniHe Last “DitchrnAnarcho-pessimists,rncrypto-Copperheads,rnpost-neo-Obj ectivists,rnand other enemies of thernpermanent regimernopining monthly, fromrnindividualist and European-rnAmerican perspectives, onrnthe end of civilizationrnWrite for free issuernTrial subscription (4 issues), $15rn12 issues, $42 24 issues, $77rnWTM EnterprisesrnP.O. Box 224 DeptCHrnRoanoke, IN 46783-0224rnprinciples of family and religion. This isrnwhy, nowadays, Gianfranco Fini is becomingrnthe most popular political leaderrnin the country (as Berlusconi himselfrnrecognizes and other allies fear), and notrnonly in the Center and the South of therncountry, while Bcdusconi holds his positionrnand Bossi’s I .ega Nord has its ownrnproblems (an internal feud and deterioratingrnpublic opinion after Bossi’s continuingrnattack against AN, Forza Italia,rnand the government of whicli his ownrnparty was a pillar). Fini, in fact, seemsrnto personify exactly the agenda that Italiansrnexpressed in Berlusconi’s polls, or atrnleast he gives the impression that he isrnthe one who can best advance it.rnBerlusconi’s government could havernbeen one of the last political chances forrnItaly. Its enemies—the leftists—knewrnthis, and they did everything thev couldrnto block its way. At home, the “ReaganrnCoalition, Italian style” had to guard itselfrnagainst both a split in its coalition, asrnhappened to the conservative alliance inrnthe United States after Reagan, and thernmany George Bushes and James Bakersrnthat could jump out of the top hat.rnWhile Italians still fear this, a finalrnsplit within the government coalitionrn(the second threat) eventually came,rnthanks to Bossi. After months of attacksrnfrom the oppositions in Parliamentrn(Roceo Buttiglione’s PPI and the Progressives,rnled by Massimo D’Alema’srnPDS), combined with growing thoughrn”indirect” hostility from the judiciary—rnand the combative media—Bcdusconirnresigned on December 22.rnDeprived for months of the supportrnof his former ideologue, GianfrancornMiglio, who left the I.ega and becamernan independent member of Parliamentrnin support of Berlusconi’s government,rnBossi saw in PDS and PPI new horsesrnto ride. For the first time in its history,rnthere were significant protests against itsrnleader by pro-governnrent leghisti (somern30 members of Parliament led by SenatorrnMarcello Staglieno, while Ministerrnof the Interior Roberto Maroni, arnleghista, seemed to plav on both Bossi’srnand Berlusconi’s sides) who wished tornconserve what has been called the “Polernof Liberties and of Good Government”rn(Berlusconi’s network of coalitions).rnCuriously enough, Bossi always denouncedrnPLOS as the heir of giganticrncommunist statism, and PPI as the heirrnof a corrupted and statist DC—issuesrnlater forgotten.rnNote that with the new majoritarianrnelectoral law (though inrperfect, Italianrnstyle), Italians voted for a precise governmentrnand not for parties responsiblernfor making and unmaking alliances at arnlater date with no respect for the will ofrnthe voters. Unable to form a new majorityrnin Padiament and fearing the popularrnresponse (their programs being sorndifferent), the I.ega, PPI, and PDS inventedrna “technical” government ruledrnby a man super partes, also called “governmentrnof the President” because thernPrime Minister would be chosen by thisrninstitutional chief. That is a gentle wayrnof upsetting the popular votes, thus advancingrnthe most dangerous, clever, andrnseasoned of the oppositions—PDS.rnBerlusconi’s alliance presented its callrnfor new elections as a way to observe thernrule of democracy (which I do not thinkrnis the avatar of any Absolute Spirit, butrnwhich is the system ruling Italy and thusrnhas to be respected by people mouthingrnits rhetoric).rnWhile PPI’s Roberto Formigoni triedrnto distinguish himself from the PDS-PPIrncoalition (a love affair sponsored byrnL^’Alema and Buttiglione, but highlyrncriticized by the Italian bishops), PresidentrnOscar Luigi Scalfaro, who is supposedrnto act as a man above the partiesrnout of respect for the Constitution,rnactually played (to say the least) a morernambiguous role. Born a ChristianrnDemocrat and elected by Parliamentrnprior to the March 27 election, the presidentrnappears to be tied to “palace politics”rn—a way of nrolding and kneading arnlust for power in the old DC custom byrnusing moderate votes to give de factornpower to the left, regardless of the will ofrnthe voters. As the major threat, PDSrnapplies the old political rule of divide etrnimpera, dividing Berlusconi’s coalitionrnand thus completing the strategy of solvernet coagula—making, uirniaking, using,rnand destroying alliances (PPI and Lega)rnfor the sake of power and ideology.rnHistory is on the run in Italy, andrnevery day brings something new. Butrnregardless of what happens by the timernthis article is published, one thing isrnsure: Berlusconi’s government—”ThernReagan Coalition, Italian Style”—rndespite its mistakes and inadequacies,rnwas salutary for this country and indicatedrna way of reform. It may only havernbeen a first step in a long run, but if wcrnturn away from this path, or sonrethingrnsimilar, the future will be grey and dangerous.rnReconstruction, restoration, andrncounterrevolution are long and slow pro-rn42/CHRONICLESrnrnrn