We should be afraid of a British Berlusconi

The lesson of the 1930s is clear: the public must understand the dangers facing democracy and get ready to protest.

Is there always a political fallout from the effects of severe economic crises such as Britain is now experiencing? The answer must surely be yes. In the 1930s the Depression broke the Macdonald Labour Party, divided the Liberals, ushered in an emergency National Government and led to the emergence of Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists. Normal party politics was restored only 15 years later, in the campaign of 1945 when Labour rose triumphantly to power to build a New Jerusalem. Not only did the recession reshape British politics in the 1930s, but the crisis also provoked a growing disillusionment with conventional party politics and the role of Parliament. The political elite that dominated the National Government was seen as self-interested and out of touch. There was little sleaze about in the 1930s - a great many MPs had private means - but there was a strong feeling among the more progressive forces in British society that MPs were a barrier to social change, economic reform and, above all, to a foreign policy that would really reflect the wide enthusiasm for the League of Nations and popular anti-war sentiment.

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6360547.ece