But he was on his way: within six months Mr Berlusconi, after inventing his own party from scratch, had ganged up with Mr Fini and the leader of the soon-to-be-separatist Northern League, Umberto Bossi (who has more of a Duce's whiff about him than Mr Fini does), to thrash the assorted left and centre in a general election.

ECONOMIST: Fini��s nice new suit