Craxi Gets His Chance

...Although the Socialist press initially heralded Craxi's ascendancy as epoch-making, the rhetorical extravagance did not last long At PSI headquarters, too, the mood quickly turned singularly subdued-offering no comparison to the heady optimism displayed two decades ago when the party, after 16 years of opposition and frontist alliance with the Communists (PCI), finally joined forces with the DC and entered the corridors of power The spirit at the time the Center-Left formula was born was reflected in the somewhat grandiloquent declaration of veteran Socialist Leader Pietro Nenni upon becoming the Deputy Prime Minister "Now each one of us is freer ". Craxi, sworn in on August 4, has himself been uncharacteristically soft-spoken since he was tapped two weeks earlier by President of the Republic Sandro Pertini to form a cabinet It is too soon to determine whether this low profile stems from caution or uncertainty Whatever the case, there are hard political realities that must appear somewhat daunting to the aggressive career politician despite his personal sense of triumph...

...No help will be forthcoming from Communist quarters either, as Ber-linguer's caustic comments have made clear There are those who fear or hope, depending on their political inclination, that Craxi will eventually abrogate the current power arrangement to form a ruling alliance with the PCI, thereby driving the DC from the government after a tenure that has been uninterrupted since the postwar years.Such a development, however, is neither practicable nor, in Craxi's mind, desirable First of all, the combined strength of the two parties simply falls short of a parliamentary majority Secondly, Craxi is a member of the PSI's large autonomist faction, which rejects any thought of ever again becoming the PCI's junior partner As long as Communist legislators outnumber Socialists by almost 3-1, the Leftist amalgam that the PCI has dubbed "the alternative" is out of the question...

...Perhaps the most telling sign of the task facing Craxi is that not even from his own party, where he is the unchallenged and ruthless leader, can he expect unconditional allegiance in his new post A number of influential Socialists are going along with his strategy only reluctantly, while personally favoring rapprochement with the Communists and a reflationary rather than deflationary economic orientation Presumably, this group will abandon the Prime Minister if his stewardship begins to appear ineffective or unpopular with the electorate as a whole The Socialists' vote total in June was after all disappointing, and the psychological boost derived from the unprecedented seizure of the nation's most powerful office is not enough to make the faithful accept cooperation with the Christian Democrats on a permanent basis Craxi will have to show concrete improvements in the state of both the nation and the party, the inescapable impression being that anything less will cost him the leadership of both...

...Ironically, the very seriousness of Italy's straits is at this point his principal asset, for it might prompt all parties in the government to drop their politicking for once and act with responsibility The measures reportedly in the wings are unpalatable to everyone, and an especially bitter pill to the Left and the unions They include strong-albeit "socially fair"-anti-inflationary legislation that would cut funds for health care and other social services and curtail salary increases now linked to rises in the cost of living Craxi obviously hopes that as a Socialist he will be able to head off an all-out confrontation with organized labor...

...It stands to reason that a country racked by double-digit inflation, uncontrolled public spending and a staggering public deficit requires immediate corrective steps But it bears remembering that the need has been equally pressing throughout the past year, when Craxi was busy undermining two governments rather than deigning to compromise with the DC on an austerity package similar to the one adopted by his fellow Socialists in France...

...The two men have taken disparate stances on events in Central America as well During the parliamentary debate preceding the vote of confidence on his proposed government, Craxi was needled by Berlinguer for his "disconcerting silence" with respect to the troubled region Craxi replied that although the presence of a U S flotilla off the coast of Nicaragua might be "disturbing," it could in no way be equated with a Soviet invasion of Afghanistan that has entailed hundreds of thousands of casualties and the flight of some 2 million refugees (The furious reaction from the Communist benches seemed to please the Socialist chief, who whispered to his parliamentary secretary, "You see, when you touch the Russians they immediately get mad...

...On the other hand, it is true Craxi can depend on nothing save his inner strength and ability to lead The DC has promised him its loyalty and full cooperation-but that is the same pledge he always gave them before toppling their governments And his situation is complicated by the fact that many Christian Democrats-not without some justification-blame their June setback squarely on the Prime Minister they are now supposed to serve In a carefully worded statement to Turin's daily, La Stampa, DC Secretary Ciriaco De Mita served notice that "we, too, are in the government, and I think our presence is visible " He was alluding to his party's possession of the most important ministerial posts-Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, Treasury, and Justice-plus the Deputy Prime Minister's office More to the point, De Mita candidly added that he regarded the DC's modus Vivendi with Craxi as one of limited duration...

...CHALLENGES FOR THE SPOILER Craxi Gets His Chance BY SILVIO F SENIGALLIA Rome FOR THE first time in its history, Italy has a Socialist chief of government Bettino Craxi, the 49-year-old leader of the Socialist Party (PSI) who pursued the office of Prime Minister with relentless tenacity, has won his dubious prize Restlessly unhappy about the PSI's secondary role in governments dominated by the Centrist Christian Democrats (DC), Craxi brought down three coalitions over the past two years The third of these wreckings made the dissolution of Parliament one year ahead of schedule inevitable, and the subsequent elections last June 26-27 proved unexpectedly devastating for the DC (see "Italy's Summer Surprise," NL, July 11-25...

...Small wonder, then, that most political observers here are skeptical about Craxi's chances of succeeding in his colossal self-imposed challenge The few optimists are likely to quote the Roman theologian Tertullian, who wrote " It is certain because it is impossible ". Silvio F Senigallia regularly reports for The New Leader from Italy...

...Finally, deep-seated differences exist between the two parties on fundamental foreign policy issues Paramount among these at the moment is whether to proceed with the scheduled deployment of nato cruise missiles in Sicily next March, assuming no progress is made in the U S -Soviet talks on medium-range nuclear arms reduction Berlinguer strongly opposes the weapons, and openly backs demonstrations both in Italy and abroad against the American military build-up Craxi has officially stated that his government will honor its commitments...

...Some veteran Socialists have not been hiding their worry about the dangers of capturing the prime minister-ship under present circumstances-the prestige and patronage opportunities attending the office notwithstanding Perhaps, they say privately, this is the wrong time to make history Craxi, to be sure, is a dynamic doer, but what if he proves as powerless as his predecessors in coming to grips with the country' s problems7 The unique chance will have been missed, the ball will bounce back into the DC court, and the PSI will be confined to the sort of role one would expect for a party unable to muster much more than one-tenth of the popular vote It is a little too late, though, for such talk Craxi knew what he wanted and he got it No one should believe he was unaware of the magnitude of the task he now confronts, and he should be allowed to savor his victory for a bit...

...The Christian Democrats, for instance, may indeed have been shocked by their severe losses in the June balloting, but the Socialists scored only minimal gains The DC is still three times as strong as Craxi's party, having taken 33 per cent of the vote (a drop of 5 points) against the PSI's 11 per cent (a gain of 1) Thus Craxi has been forced to fill most of the positions m his cabinet with ministers whose views on economic and social issues are resented by a significant section of his camp The DC, along with the small yet influential Republican Party headed by former Prime Minister Giovanni Spadolim, is pressing for a rigid deflationary policv that, if implemented, will also expose Craxi to severe criticism from the Left-specifically the Communists and the labor unions Already PCI Secretary Enrico Berlinguer has branded the new government a neoconservative formation, and chided Craxi for letting himself be trapped in a cage whose key is in the hands of the DC chieftains...