Recent Trends in Italian Politics
| Date | 01 December 1964 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070206401900403 |
| Published date | 01 December 1964 |
| Author | Giorgio Borsa |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Recent
Trends
in
Italian
Politics
Giorgio
Borsa*
When,
during
the
crisis
of
July
1964,
Signor
Aldo Moro,
labouring
under
all
sorts
of
difficulties
including
the
heat
of
a
Roman
summer,
seemed
to
be
failing
in
his
efforts to
piece
to-
gether
the
four
party
coalition
over
which
he
had
presided
for
six months,
an
old
Roman
hand
summed
up
the
situation.
Signor
Moro,
he
said,
would succeed
because
whatever
difficul-
ties
he
might
encounter in
giving
Italy
a
centre-left
government
he
would
find
it
even
more
difficult
not
to
do
so.
What
he
meant
was
that
the
so-called
"opening to
the
left"
was
the
inescapable
result
of
twenty
years
of
political evolution;
and his
forecast
proved
correct.
The
present
coalition
includes
the
Christian
Democratic
Party,
to
which
the Prime
Minister
belongs;
the
Socialist
Party,
under
Pietro
Nenni;
the
Democratic Socialist
Party,
led
by
Giuseppe
Saragat;
and
the tiny
Republican
Party
which,
as
the
heir
of
Mazzini's
Party,
has
an
influence
exceeding
its
numerical
strength.
The
four
parties
together are
assured
of
a
comfortable
majority
in
both
Houses, which,
being
elected
simultaneously
by
direct
adult
suffrage,
show
more
or
less
the
same
composition.
The
630
seats
in
the
House of
Deputies
were
distributed
after
the
1963
election
as
follows:
Christian
Democrats,
260;
Demo-
cratic
Socialists,
33;
Republicans,
6;
Socialists,
87;
Communists,
166;
MSI
(Neo-Fascists),
27;
Liberals,
39;
Monarchists,
8;
others
(local),
4.
No
government
is
feasible
without
the
Christian
Democrats,
for the
Communists
and
the
right
wing
parties
will
never
side
together.
On
the
other
hand,
the
Christian
Democratic
Party
is
not
in
a
position
to
govern
alone.
Theoretically,
besides
join-
ing
with
the
parties
on
their
left
down
to
and
excluding
the
Com-
munists
(which
is
what
they
did
under
the
present
centre-left
government)
the Christian
Democrats
could
form
a
centre
government
with
support
from
the
left
of
the
Republicans
and
the
moderate
Democratic
Socialists,
and
from
the right
of
the
*
Faculty
of
Political
Science,
University
of
Pavia.
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