The Italian Radicals (Radicali Italiani), one of the most libertarian parties in Europe – describing themselves as “a liberal, liberista and libertarian” political movement (wikipedia), established in 2005 an alliance with the Italian social-democratic party ‘Socialisti Democratici Italiani’ under the name La Rosa nel Pugno (Rose in the Fist). Emma Bonino writes in her ‘Note on the Italian Elections’:

Our list, La Rosa nel Pugno (Rose in the Fist) got 2.6% of the popular vote. It was the only brand new party taking part in the elections. The Rose in the Fist, which adopts the symbol of the Socialist International that we Radicals bought from Mitterrand in 1972, was launched in September 2005 and, with very limited financial resources, was able to bring together the Italian political traditions of the radicals, socialists, liberals. Over the last few months, we were able to aggregate several politicians and intellectuals coming for the Democrats of the Left, who recognized the importance of making the separation of “Church and State” a priority in Italy, but also, thanks to a pro-scientific reform referendum campaign of last year, several among the most know University professors, scientists and researchers working in the field of biogenetics and bioethics decided to join our lists to send a strong political message to restore freedom of scientific research in a country that suffered limitations and prohibitions by the Berlusconi’s Government in 2004.

As E. Bonino notes, their “2.6%, around 1 million votes, was instrumental in securing Prodi’s victory”.
It is not the first time that (non-Marxist) socialists have allied with liberals against the conservatives, and I certainly hope it will not be the last. It is about time that liberals cut their ties with the conservative parties and social democrats disassociated themselves from their Marxist mutations.