But when Tangentopoli got going in 1992, and Mr Amato was put forward as a caretaker prime minister, he smartly distanced himself from his mentor.

ECONOMIST: Giuliano Amato, Italy??s agile stopgap

But the south is still corrupt and, across Italy, there have even been hints of old political crooks from pre-Tangentopoli days creeping back into action.

ECONOMIST: Romano Prodi, Italy??s would-be record-breaker

Cynics, citing the tangentopoli corruption scandal that hit Italian business and politics seven years ago, believe that lawyers are on Italian boards mainly to find loopholes and cover the tracks of scams, rather than to keep firms on the straight and narrow.

ECONOMIST: The law and the profits