 For the same reason, Sforza wanted a republic as soon as possible, arguing the House of Savoy was far too closely associated with Fascism to enjoy moral legitimacy, and the only hope of establishing a liberal democracy in Italy after the war was a republic.By this point, the Badoglio government was so unpopular with the Italian people that Umberto was willing to accept the support of any party with a mass following, even the Communists.The fact that contrary to expectations that Togliatti and Badoglio got along very well led to widespread fears amongst liberal-minded Italians that a Togliatti-Badoglio duumvirate might emerge, forming an alliance between what rapidly was becoming Italy's largest mass party and the military.