Word: merzagora
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...Democrat. The Liberals. Social Democrats and Scelba's own faction in the Christian Democrats were willing to support Einaudi. Fanfani was not. At an eleventh-hour meeting before the Deputies and Senators gathered in Rome's big Montecitorio Palace to vote, Fanfani imposed his compromise candidate: Cesare Merzagora, 56, president of the Senate. As the Christian Democrats filed into the chamber, they got a printed reminder from Boss Fanfani: "Party discipline requires you vote for Merzagora...
...Force of Rebellion. At the first secret ballot, Fanfani got a rude shock. There were 382 Christian Democrats on hand. But Merzagora got only 228 votes. There were 130 votes for Einaudi, 30 votes for Gronchi. Frantically, during the long Italian lunch hour, Fanfani scurried from one party member to another, cracking the whip. But on the second ballot Merzagora not only did not gain, but lost a few votes. What was worse, the conservative faction within the Christian Democrats, which includes former Premier Giuseppe Pella, began voting for Left-Winger Gronchi. This was their revenge against Party Secretary Fanfani...
...bided their time. Their candidate, who led on the first ballot, dropped out. On the third ballot, near midnight, the Socialists threw their 100-odd votes to Gronchi, sending him surging into the lead. All night long, before the fourth ballot, Fanfani tried to stem the rebellion. He got Merzagora to write out a letter withdrawing his candidacy in favor of Einaudi. Then, with Scelba, he went to Gronchi and asked him to withdraw too. Gronchi refused. "You have always believed in force," he told Fanfani. "Now that I am stronger than...