Italy

F

The Republic of Italy

In June 1946 elections were held for a constituent assembly to decide the constitutional form of the new Italian state. Nearly 25 million voters, about 89 percent of the eligible electorate, which for the first time included women, participated. Of the voters, 54.3 percent chose a republic. On June 10, Italy became a republic. Three days later King Humbert abdicated and left the country.

In the 1946 vote for the Constituent Assembly the Christian Democrats won a plurality of 207 seats and emerged as the dominant party in Italy. The Socialist Party won 115 seats, the Communists gained 104 seats, and four minor parties shared the remaining 117 seats. Enrico de Nicola, a member of the Liberal Party, was elected provisional president of the republic. De Gasperi remained as prime minister.

Irreconcilable disagreements between the Communists and Christian Democrats soon became evident. This friction was intensified by persistent food shortages and near famine and by the generally chaotic Italian economy. As the prestige of the De Gasperi government declined, the Socialist and Communist parties drew together. Municipal elections in November 1946 indicated a decline in Christian Democratic support and gains for the Communist, Socialist, and rightist parties.

F

1

A New Constitution

The Constituent Assembly drafted a constitution for Italy. Approved on December 22, 1947, by a vote of 453 to 62, the document became effective on January 1, 1948. The constitution introduced a system of proportional representation and restored the guarantees of civil liberties taken away by the fascist government. However, a court decision in 1948 deferred indefinitely many of the more radical innovations of the constitution. The Constitutional Court was not created until 1956, the Supreme Council of the Magistracy until 1958, while the measures of regional autonomy included in the constitution were only introduced in the 1970s. As a result the legal codes introduced by the fascist regime continued unchanged, as did the magistrates and law enforcement agencies. The constitution also confirmed the privileges that Mussolini had conceded to the papacy, established Catholicism as the official state religion, and made religious education compulsory. On family and marriage law the constitution also followed Catholic precepts.

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F

2

Political Friction

The national election campaign of 1948 was one of the most bitter and dramatic in Italian history. Displays of force became a central feature in the strategy of many parties. The Communist-led coalition frequently used labor strikes as a political weapon. In reprisals against the left, the government confiscated arms and ammunition and conducted intimidatory military demonstrations in various urban areas. Pius XII approved anti-Communist activity by the Italian clergy. In April the Christian Democratic Party won overwhelmingly. It received nearly 49 percent of the vote, giving it 307 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 151 in the Senate. The Popular Front, the coalition of Communists and radical Socialists, won 182 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 31 in the Senate. The moderate Socialists elected 33 deputies; the remaining 52 seats went to minor parties.

The mandate to the Christian Democrats enabled De Gasperi to oust the Communists from government, but the continued strength of the Communists made reconciliation of the differences that had divided the nation unlikely. Luigi Einaudi, the candidate of the Christian Democrats and moderate Socialists, was elected president of the Italian republic. De Gasperi was reappointed prime minister.

The exclusion of the Communists from government qualified Italy for support under the Marshall Plan (see European Recovery Program). The supplies and credits that as a result began to flow into Italy created favorable conditions for reconstruction of the national economy. The Communists opposed the Marshall Plan and promoted a widespread strike for higher wages, culminating in July in a general 12-hour walkout. Within two weeks Italy was plunged into another grave crisis as the result of the attempted assassination of Palmiro Togliatti, head of the Italian Communist Party. The General Confederation of Labor, charging the government with political responsibility, immediately called a nationwide general strike to force its resignation. During the next two days riots took place in practically every city of Italy. Order was restored only by the mobilization of more than 300,000 troops and police.

F

3

Fall of De Gasperi

In an attempt to improve the effectiveness of the executive branch of the government, the Christian Democrats and their allies secured passage, in 1953, of an electoral reform bill ensuring the party in power of a working majority in parliament. The bill provided that a party or coalition polling 50 percent or more of the popular vote would receive 65 percent of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies.

Parliamentary elections were held in June 1953. The Christian Democrats emerged again as the strongest party, this time with 40 percent of the votes. The Communists were second (22.6 percent), and the parties of the right, which registered the biggest gains (12.7 percent as compared with 4.2 percent in 1948), were third. De Gasperi was succeeded as prime minister by Giuseppe Pella, former minister of the treasury, who won the neutrality of the Socialists and the support of the monarchists. Intraparty differences, however, brought about the collapse of several governments in the following two years.

Late in 1953 the status of the Free Territory of Trieste brought Italy and Yugoslavia to the verge of war, but tensions abated after the United States, Britain, and France agreed to work out a formula acceptable to both sides. The subsequent settlement in 1954 allocated a zone including the city of Trieste to Italy; Yugoslavia received the rest of the Trieste region. Italy became a member of the United Nations in 1955.

F

4

The Economic Miracle

After the painful years of postwar recession and reconstruction, Italy’s economy moved into a new phase of expansion between 1953 and 1963. This phase is generally referred to as “the economic miracle.” Thanks to low wages and U.S. financial support, Italy became a major manufacturer and exporter of consumer goods, which ranged from domestic appliances to motor scooters and popular Fiat cars. Government expenditure on housing and highways supported the expansion, as did massive investment to create economic growth in Southern Italy. During these years Italians once again emigrated, emptying the poorer rural areas, especially those in the south. Some crossed the Atlantic or moved to other European countries, but others migrated to the rapidly expanding northern cities such as Milan and Turin, where Italy’s principal industries were located.

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