  We present a coherent scenario for the physics of cuprate superconductors,
which is based on a charge-driven inhomogeneity, i.e. the ``stripe phase''. We
show that spin and charge critical fluctuations near the stripe instability of
strongly correlated electron systems provide an effective interaction between
the quasiparticles, which is strongly momentum, frequency, temperature and
doping dependent. This accounts for the various phenomena occurring in the
overdoped, optimally and underdoped regimes both for the normal and the
superconductive phase.
