Walter veltroni, leader of Italy's main opposition Democratic Party (PD), asserted recently that his was a "party of good people". Mesmerised by the spectacle of a prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, whose political career has been lived one step ahead of the courtroom, most non-Italians have been prepared to take such remarks at face value. Italy's centre-left may be a bit dull and worthy, and somewhat tarnished by the communist past of many of its leaders (including Mr Veltroni). But, give or take a rotten apple, it has always seemed fundamentally honest.
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