Sicily's 'Operation Milazzo'
CICCOTTI, SIGFRIDO
Success of splinter group headed by Silvio Milazzo in island's recent elections could spark dangerous split in Christian Democratic ranks throughout Italy SICILY'S 'OPERATION MILAZZO' By...
...Silvio Milazzo, a popular lawyer and landowner from the provincial town of Caltagirone who had previously been a dutiful supporter of the Christian Democratic party, made a surprising move that ended the crisis...
...Left Socialists...
...But such a development would seriously threaten the future of democracy in Italy...
...Milazzo and his four colleagues were read out of the party, and the party machinery was mobilized to isolate the rebels and reduce their following...
...Being at the head of the nation's largest and most powerful party, the Christian Democratic leaders must bear the greatest responsibility for maintaining and developing its free institutions...
...Perhaps more important than the election's immediate effects in Sicily, however, are its implications for Italy as a whole: Will the split in the Christian Democratic party spread across the country, or will it remain a peculiarly Sicilian feature...
...with his well-known political skill, could bring the now confident Milazzo back to a shaky and turbulent party...
...Milazzo's new Christian Social Union party picked up four seats in this month's balloting, giving it a total of nine...
...The remaining seats are distributed as follows: Communists...
...Tradition began giving way to confusion last year, when signs of dissension appeared in Sicily's Christian Democratic ranks...
...Until the Left Socialist Central Committee meets this summer to discuss the problem, he can do little more than keep his fingers crossed...
...In fact, Milazzo's administration extended this practice to limits which might ruin the finances of any government—and there is no reason to expect any changes in the next four years...
...But such a government would have little chance of lasting very long...
...Nevertheless...
...There is a good chance, therefore, that he will be called upon to reform the coalition that has become known throughout Italy as "Operation Milazzo...
...Social Democrats, one...
...The climax came last spring with the overthrow of the Regional Government by the Council...
...Milazzo himself faces difficulties in renewing his coalition...
...With the Monarchists, Liberals and Social Democrats, this could give the Christian Democrats 49 votes, or a bare four-vote majority...
...But Milazzo is hoping that Nenni will not stand by his word, or that, if he does, the Sicilian delegates will not heed it...
...Interestingly, the Christian Democrats, who had their strength cut from 37 to 32 after last fall's defection, emerged from the voting with 34 seats and of course still constitute the largest single bloc in the Council...
...In addition, the traditions of waste and extravagance in the Government, although not invented by Milazzo's administration, are likely to be continued...
...Some members of the Vatican are known to have suggested recently that two Catholic parties could better foster the interests of the Church than one...
...of course, that Fanfani will be able to persuade Milazzo to return to the fold...
...The electoral strength of Sicily's parties can be seen from the table below, which compares the percentage of votes won in the latest election with those of the 1955 election: Party 1959 1955 Christian Democrats 38.7 38.6 Christian Union 10.6 - Communists 21.3 20.8 Left Socialists 9.8 9.7 Neo-Fascists 7.6 9.6 Monarchists 4.7 12.7 Liberals 3.7 3.9 Social Democrats 2.2 2.9 (Under Sicily's election laws, the Regional Council seats are not distributed on a strictly proportional basis...
...Since 1947, this Council has traditionally been controlled by Italy's dominant Christian Democratic party...
...Indeed, the question of whether being a semi-autonomous state is an asset or a liability is being seriously debated...
...nine...
...The party, however, is still far from unified and it appears at the moment that internal squabbles will thwart Fanfani's efforts to establish a workable coalition...
...Men of national reputation who have served as ministers in Rome and as members of Parliament, like former Premier Mario Scelba, resented being treated on an equal level with unknown young men whose positions rested on nothing more than their allegiance to party Secretary and Council President Amintore Fanfani...
...Finally, in September...
...Two and a half million Sicilians went to the polls to elect a 90-member Regional Council, which will rule for the next four years...
...Given existing conditions, two Catholic parties would merely divide the country into two camps, one supported by the Left and the other by the Right...
...Success of splinter group headed by Silvio Milazzo in island's recent elections could spark dangerous split in Christian Democratic ranks throughout Italy SICILY'S 'OPERATION MILAZZO' By Sigfrido Ciccotti ROME THE SUCCESS OF Silvio Milazzo's Christian Social Union party in Sicily's June 7 elections has added another twist to the semi-autonomous island's already tangled political picture...
...Even with this major difficulty to be faced, however, the feeling here at this time is that "Operation Milazzo" will be repeated...
...It is significant that the Communists gained only one seat, while the Monarchists lost six, and the Socialists, Liberals and Social Democrats lost one each...
...Despite its obvious internal contradictions, this coalition, headed by Milazzo as Regional President, managed not only to survive but to do a creditable job in the eight months prior to the elections...
...Neo-Fascists...
...Speaking in Palermo recently, Left-Socialist boss Pietro Nenni solemnly stated that his party would not participate again in any coalition with the NeoFascists...
...Liberals, two...
...There is the remote possibility...
...The Communists stand to benefit most from such a development...
...Since it controls the largest number of seats, first crack at forming a government belongs to the Christian Democrats...
...Monarchists, three...
...In recent years, few constructive steps have been taken to bolster Sicily's faltering economy...
...Together with four other dissidents, he formed a curious coalition which included the Communists, Neo-Fascists, Monarchists and Left Socialists—a total of 53 votes out of the 90 in the Council...
...For 40 days, meetings were held and speeches were made, but to no avail...
...Moreover, it seems improbable that even Fanfani...
...The latter normally polls better than a million votes, enough to guarantee its running of the Government in the ancient Norman Castle in Palermo...
...This would seem to indicate that the loss of support suffered by the smaller extremist parties is not benefiting the Communists in any noteworthy fashion...
...In any event, the next Regional President of this island faces a difficult task...
...They will be seriously shirking that responsibility if they don t see Milazzo's victory in Sicily as a warning that their internal party feuds can have disastrous results for Italy...
...If true, this would mean that Milazzo could muster only 42 votes, three short of a minimum majority...
...By then, the split within the Christian Democratic party had widened and agreement on the formation of a new government was virtually impossible...
...Unemployment is wide-spread, industrial development is non-existent, agriculture is backward, and the housing problem, especially in Palermo, is shockingly acute...
...Fanfani, angered by the turn of events, decided that a strong hand was needed...
Vol. 42 • June 1959 • No. 26
