Italy's Northern League resurgent

One of the political movements that inspired the formation of the present-day League of the South has barreled back onto the Italian political scene:

Italy's centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi won a return to power this week with a majority that - by Italian standards - looks very comfortable.

But he did so with the help of a formerly troublesome and often controversial right-wing ally, the Northern League.

The populist party almost doubled its vote, winning more than 8% nationally, and is expected to have several ministers in the new government.

Its appeal has only intensified since the outgoing Socialist coalition came to power -- and no wonder:

The League's campaign focused on what it sees as the waste, inefficiency and corruption of the political class in Rome.

That has always been a rallying call for the party, which became a significant force in the wake of the corruption scandals of the early 1990s as it attacked "robber Rome".

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? I suppose all political classes are alike.