Fanfani Goes West
SENIGALLIA, SILVIO F.
Rome Letter By Silvio F. Senigallia FANFANI GOES WEST ROME PREMIER Amintore Fanfani's call, during his recent visits to Washington, Paris and Bonn, for a change in NATO Middle East policies has...
...Christian Democrats were glad to see their leader get prompt official recognition, the nationalist-minded saw it as evidence of Italy's stature, and even the Left gave him credit for independence...
...Nenni's party will hold its national convention toward the end of the year...
...He won a vote of confidence by an extremely slim margin, which was provided by the abstention of the six Republican party deputies...
...Other observers maintain that Fanfani's actions should not be disassociated from the present and projected operations of ENI, Italy's state oil monopoly, in the Middle East...
...In 1956, the President tried to voice his concern over the West's Middle East policy in a letter to President Eisenhower...
...Some conservative leaders, including those in Fanfani's own Christian Democratic party, feel that a more independent Italian approach to the Middle East might endanger Atlantic unity...
...Since 1945, the latter have been allied with the Communists...
...Some commentators have pointed out that the views which two years ago were held exclusively by President Giovanni Gronchi have now been officially accepted...
...It was never delivered, though, because of a veto by the then-Premier, Antonio Segni, and the then-Foreign Minister, Gaetano Martino...
...Meanwhile, plans for unifying the two Socialist parties are making little progress...
...The trip did not, however, lighten Fanfani's task of securing a reasonably stable majority for his Government in Parliament...
...They charge the Premier with underrating Arab nationalism's ties with Communism...
...This small left-of-center democratic group will hold its national convention at the end of October...
...Many Italian democrats hope that this time the Socialists will shake themselves free...
...In recent years, there has been evidence of strong forces in the party working toward breaking this tie, but thus far they have not been able to defeat the pro-Communist leaders of the party machine...
...This means the Premier can only seek aid on the left—more precisely, among Pietro Nenni's Socialists...
...At that time, it will decide whether to transform its abstention into direct support of and participation in the Fanfani Government...
...Ever since the August 1956 meeting between Nenni and Social Democratic leader Giuseppe Saragat, one fact has continued to stand in the way of Socialist unity: The Social Democrats make the merger contingent upon a complete break by the Nenni Socialists with the Communists...
...Fanfani's left-of-center orientation rules out the support not only of the neo-Fascists and Monarchists on the Right, but also of the democratically conservative Liberals...
...Nevertheless, the Premier's trip west has increased his prestige at home...
...Fanfani apparently hopes to force their hand and win their support for at least some items in his program...
...The outcome is unpredictable at this point, but even if the Republicans join the Christian Democrat-Social Democrat coalition, their votes will not give Fanfani enough of a margin to carry out his ambitious program of social and economic reforms...
...Rome Letter By Silvio F. Senigallia FANFANI GOES WEST ROME PREMIER Amintore Fanfani's call, during his recent visits to Washington, Paris and Bonn, for a change in NATO Middle East policies has aroused concern here...
...But most observers, including Saragat, do not believe this will happen soon...
Vol. 41 • October 1958 • No. 32
