We are in a situation in which Fini is a lesser evil. He is far more moderate than Berlusconi or such party fellow members as Ignazio La Russa or Maurizio Gasparri.

Berlusconi has constantly insulted and been enraged by Fini's positions on issues. But numbers are tyranny. Berlusconi cannot do without him. Just four days ago, Berlusconi called him a traitor.

It is out of the question that Fini would ever be a successor to Berlusconi. Their visions of the state and government are incompatible.

The Italian program "Blob" is fantastic, a national institution. I was referring however to the 1950's horror film with a very young Steve McQueen in which a Blob absorbs everything, turning it into an indistinct mass, a paradigm of our times.