Segni Returns to Power
SENIGALLIA, SILVIO F.
Segni Returns to Power Italy's new Premier, who headed a coalition government in 1955-57, is back in office with a right-wing-supported 'monocolore' cabinet By Silvio F. Senigallia Rome Italy's...
...Fanfani's alliance with the Social Democrats (PSDI) and his ambitious progressive program were constantly opposed by the whole right wing, including that of his own party...
...Segni Returns to Power Italy's new Premier, who headed a coalition government in 1955-57, is back in office with a right-wing-supported 'monocolore' cabinet By Silvio F. Senigallia Rome Italy's new Premier, Antonio Segni, confirmed in office by both houses of Parliament just a week ago, is a moderate Christian Democrat, a university professor and a gentleman farmer from Sardinia...
...At the same time...
...Segni, an old hand at this kind of game, is quite aware of these possibilities and will unquestionably hue to a very moderate line...
...If Fanfani succeeds in regrouping his forces, he will be able to make life difficult for Segni, should the Government move too far to the right...
...however, though aware of the right-wing nature of the Parliamentary majority, are much less pessimistic...
...The future of the Segni Government is inevitably contingent on the political future of ex-premier Fanfani...
...His resignation as Secretary-General of his party, which followed immediately after his resignation as premier, was prompted by the defection of some of his closest assistants and by his own bitterness and frustration...
...Segni, they point out, is a sincere democrat...
...The difference between the new Government and that of Segni's predecessor...
...This is Segni's second time around in the premiership, the first having been in 1955-57, when he headed a coalition of left-of-center Social Democrats and right-of-center Liberals...
...it was during his previous tenure that a major land-reform program was undertaken...
...Now the opposition parties are claiming, not without reason, that the Segni Government is farther to the right than any previous Italian cabinet, and some newspapers are making ominous predictions about the rise of reaction in Italy...
...If he succeeds, he will give the country a much-needed interlude of political calm...
...All theoretically possible permutations for resolving the crisis were actually unfeasible—a clear indication of the weakness of Italian politics today...
...Fanfani sharply attacked the Liberals and refused to consider their participation in his cabinet...
...An open alliance with the Liberals and Monarchists was rejected even by most of the CD right-wingers because it would have pinned a narrow conservative label on the majority party...
...A centrist coalition was out of the question because of the opposition of Saragat, who feared that his participation in a government alongside the Liberals would further weaken the PSDI...
...A new CD-PSDI coalition, vigorously advocated by PSDI leader Giuseppe Saragat, was obviously impossible because of the opposition of the CD right wing and, later, of the five left-wing deputies who bolted the PSDI...
...Impartial observers...
...To recapture control of his party, Fanfani will have to act quickly, for the CD national council is soon to name a new party secretary-general and directorate...
...Moreover, the Government cannot move too far to the right without encountering opposition from the powerful CD left-wing...
...The latter has lost the support of many middle-of-the-road elements in the CD, and if, as most people believe, he intends to make a comeback, he will rally around himself the various groups and forces that constitute the CD left wing...
...In that case, Fanfani's left-wing "snipers" could harass Segni as vigorously as the right-wingers tormented Fanfani himself, and Italy might then face another ministerial crisis...
...For though he retained a slim majority in Parliament, the "snipers" were able, by voting "no"' in secret ballot, to prevent passage of any significant piece of legislation...
...In the end, a monocolore government turned out to be the only solution, and Segni showed great patience and political skill in rallying the virtually unanimous support of the CD leaders, most of whom are in the Government...
...The likelihood is, then, that Segni will refrain from proposing any controversial legislation and will confine himself to the solution of urgent, pending administrative problems...
...Amintore Fanfani, is clear from the support given it by right-wingers...
...The present Government is what the Italians call monocolore—an all-Christian Democratic affair, with support in Parliament from the Liberals and the other right-wing parties, the two Monarchist groups and the neo-Fascists...
...It was actually the relentless opposition of the diehard conservative "snipers" inside his party that finally forced Fanfani to resign...
Vol. 42 • March 1959 • No. 10
