This time it was the prospect of Silvio Berlusconi becoming prime minister. The former cruise-ship crooner enjoys the spotlight. However his latest performance has drawn not applause, but horrified stares from outside Italy. Comparing the manifestos of the outgoing government and Mr Berlusconi's centre-right coalition is instructive. Nothing outrageous, nothing dangerous, a consensus, yet Italy has just endured its most acid campaign since the aftermath of the second world war.
Napoleonic ambition concerns critics less than the whiff of corruption.
Convictions for illegal party funding, bribing tax police and false accounting have been quashed on technicalities but separate charges of tax fraud, false accounting and bribing a judge are pending. Even more worrying are conflicts of interest. Italy's richest man has unrivalled means to influence public opinion. He owns the three main commercial TV networks, a publishing house and a daily newspaper. If, as seems likely from last night's exit polls, he is confirmed as Italy's new prime minister, he will gain control of state television.