Word: andreotti
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...delicate truce with his principal opposition has enabled Andreotti, a seasoned politician who has three tunes been Premier and was a minister in 16 governments, to crank out an intensive program of austerity measures-including stiffer tariffs, higher government-controlled prices, and proposed wage restraints-aimed at curing the sickest partner in the European Common Market. Italy's current inflation rate is 18%, its internal deficit is estimated at $20 billion, and its foreign trade deficit has doubled in only a year, to $4.4 billion. So weak is the lira that it has to be supported...
...hasten the IMF'S decision and to seek still more assistance from the U.S., Andreotti is due in Washington this week for meetings with President Ford and Secretary of State Kissinger. The Italian leader also hopes to talk to Jimmy Carter-or at least the President-elect's transition team-particularly since during the campaign Carter specifically viewed Communists in Western European governments as a concern but not a catastrophe and indicated interest in opening avenues of communication with them as President...
Before leaving Rome, Andreotti discussed his concerns in an interview with Bonfante. While admitting that the economic crisis was severe, the Premier was faintly optimistic. "Some of the capital that fled abroad has returned, and there is a much greater awareness than there was a year ago that we have to face up to the crisis. The balance of payments used to be regarded as a problem for technicians. Today people understand that it bears on the price of meat at the butcher in the morning...
Asked Bonfante: "It has been calculated that Italy spends 120% of its income. Why don't Italians work and produce more?" Replied Andreotti: "There is a decided commitment under way to recover output and productivity. In fact, we've been able to abolish seven holidays, which would have been unthinkable in other times...
...While Andreotti has no illusions about the Communists' ultimate thrust for absolute power, he also realizes that they do not want Italy's capitalistic structure to collapse completely. Said the Premier: "If the Communist Party does not aim at revolution and dictatorship, it is only natural that it should support the recovery plan. The Communists know full well that if the lira plunges to the bottom, it would mean entering a risky area ... It seems to me that this sense of collective responsibility cannot be misinterpreted as the historic compromise, as some would have...