### Clue: Inspired Democrat lagging behind popular Italian dictator? (7)
### Answer: INDUCED 
 ### Explanation: Definition: Inspired
 D(abbrev. for for a member of the Democratic Party) **placed after**(lagging behind) [ IN(popular;fashionable) + DUCE(Italian title originally equivalent to "duke", and later used to refer to a dictator, especially to Mussolini, Il Duce) ].