The tide of change? Campaigners took to the beaches to achieve the quorum.

Berlusconi’s arrogant disregard for the principles of democracy is such that in Italy’s referendum over the weekend he was actively advising people NOT to vote.

In this way he hope that the 50% quorum would not be reached and his policies would pass by default.

Thankfully, this strategy backfired as sufficient numbers of Italians took time out from the beach to register their votes against the privatization of water and the escalation of the nuclear power network.

The sweetest victory was in overturning Berlusconi’s attempt to gain immunity from legal action and to reject his view that some people (i.e. him) are more equal than others in the eyes of the law.

This is a victory for those who posted on Facebook or Twitter to discourage apathy. It also shows that good old fashioned campaigning aimed at rank and file voters is still vital.

Regime change is still some way off but the result of the referendum and the swing towards the left in the recent local elections shows that, finally, there is a growing number who are sick and tired of the ineffective and corrupt government.

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