Word: christiane
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...further. The main political parties were unable to agree on a common program to deal with the country's deteriorating economy. There were new incidents of urban terrorism and still more charges of corruption leveled against the top political leadership. The latest events could only harm the teetering Christian Democratic government of Premier Aldo Moro and increase the chances that the Communists-for the first time since 1948 -could soon have a formal role in the national government...
...question of the week: would there be a dissolution of Parliament and early elections? If so, the results of the vote could give the powerful Communist Party a major role in whatever new government was formed, even Cabinet-level positions. In order to forestall that disturbing prospect, the Christian Democrats, led by Party Secretary Benigno Zaccagnini, had devised a scheme. They would push the idea of limited consultations between the parties-including the Communists-to agree on a common economic policy. Such a plan would avoid the need for early elections and provide a convenient way to gain the support...
...Zaccagnini holed up with burly Socialist Leader Francesco de Martino. Emerging from the Christian Democrats' parliamentary offices after three hours, De Martino would only say: "There is something new in the C.D. proposals, but differences still remain." The Socialists, fearful of being squeezed into impotence by informal agreement between the Christian Democrats and the Communists, nonetheless continued to push for early elections...
...Communists were initially more receptive to Zaccagnini's efforts-mainly because they prefer an informal accommodation with the Christian Democrats to an attempt, during the current crisis, to wield power formally. But of late matters have become more complicated. The Christian Democrats' election two weeks ago of former Premier Amintore Fanfani (an uncompromising antiCommunist) as president of the party's national council deeply angered the Communists. "We proposed our own broad 'political accord' on all major issues for the duration of this legislature," explained Giorgio Napolitano, a leading Communist, "but the Christian Democrats said...
...rather difficult for the Americans to understand what is happening in Italy because America never had a serious Communist party. The Italian Communist Party has really been the only opposition party to the Christian Democrats since the second World War. This is why we have had the Christian Democrats in power for 30 years-because of the impossibility of the alternative. At the same time, that role in opposition has made the Italian Communists milder, different, trying to prove that they could be an acceptable alternative in Western society, which is a situation different from that of any other Communist...