Word: scelba
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Italy's Communists had been diligent in fanning the Scelba regime's months of inactivity into a national scandal that was rapidly corroding confidence in the entire Italian governing class. Now the Reds were quick to seize on the government's action as an opportunity to bring down their hated enemy, tough Mario Scelba. Communist Boss Palmiro Togliatti, with the support of Fellow-Traveling Socialist Pietro Nenni, threw one of his best firebrands against the government in Parliament. Before a packed Senate gallery, Red Senator Umberto Terracini recounted how Polito had served under National Police Chief Tommaso...
...doubt that there was an attempt to stifle justice," cried Terracini. "It is impossible to believe that the honorable Premier, at that time Minister of the Interior, was kept completely in the dark about what his immediate subalterns were doing." The Communists and Red Socialists demanded that the Scelba government resign...
...Beria Was Shot." After three days debate, Premier Scelba gave his answer. "A young man has been arrested on the charge of manslaughter, a crime for which he will have to answer personally," said he coolly. "We are charged with not having acted in this matter. But we do not yet know the details of the charges nor the motives for this crime." As for the Communist insistence that a minister must answer for all the acts of subordinates, even their crimes, Scelba was scathing: the U.S. Secretary of State was not believed culpable because one of his subordinates, Alger...
...Premier Scelba had made his point and the Red balloon was pricked. The Christian Democrats and their allies held solidly together; the Red move to oust Scelba on a vote of confidence was defeated...
...belated arrests, though they seemed to the Communists to offer excellent material for proving that the government had been trying to cover up, actually produced a great psychological break for the Scelba regime. Persons of wealth and high position just are not touched in Italy by the law-or so many Italians had come to believe. But this time, neither the wealth of Ugo Montagna nor the high connections of Jazz Pianist Piero Piccioni had prevented indictment and arrest...