ABSTRACT
Anglo-Saxon observers have underestimated the changes which April 1992 brought to Italian political life. In November the Economist depicted the politicians fiddling while Rome collapsed around them. The attitude of "diffuse rebellion" has persisted towards the parties, as the trend in the local elections reveals. Censis notes that discontent with existing institutions such as trade unions or local governments creates a loss of community sense and an emphasis on individual or corporate interests. Political fragmentation is a theme of Sard's chapter, which depicts the increased volatility of voters who are no longer constrained by Cold War categories. The political effect of the devaluation and the austerity program was threefold. The revelations of bribe-taking made heroes out of magistrates like Antonio Di Pietro and further discredited the political class, especially the Socialists whose showcase city of Milan was the center of the "clean hands" investigation and whose secretary was forced to resign in February 1993.
