How to stop democracy on its tracks

Psst - I have secret and valuable information: the biggest world news at the moment is this: Berlusconi refuses to concede defeat after the latest election in Italy. If it were given its right place, it would be all over the front page of all newspapers.

In a well-functioning democracy, those who deserve the congratulations are not the winners, but the losers who give up power. Democracy is not about receiving a legitimate right to power from the people - it's about accepting that people have withdrawn their support. In every undemocratic society, you have groups who claim - sometimes rightfully so - a legitimate right to exercise power. It's only that the ruling elite doesn't want to give up. When, in a democracy, losers refuse to give up power, we walk a very thin ice.

Europe seems a stable system and we're not really worried about democracy there. It's telling of the success of the European Union considering how those concerns would have been natural 60 years ago. But we should be careful not to be overconfident. Berlusconi's behaviour is as threatening to democracy as it gets. It creates doubts in people's mind, leading to a loss of legitimacy for the elected government; it creates confusion within the ministries as to who's giving orders; it casts a doubt on the basis of a democracy: the elections.

Al Gore needs to be praised for giving up his claim to power after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of George Bush in 2000. There might have been reasons to doubt the outcome, but what really matters is democracy - not the party in power for the next four years. Berlusconi, if he loves Italy more than himself, must understand that sooner rather than... too late.