The Press FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 1946. Italy’s Referendum And Election

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24895, 7 June 1946, Page 6

The Press FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 1946. Italy’s Referendum And Election

Of the six parties which have made up Signor de Gaspcri’s Government, three—Socialists, Communists, and Actionists—had declared themselves, solidly, against the House of Savoy. Signor de Gasperi’s own party, the Christian Democrats, had, in a recent conference vote, shown itself substantially against the Monarchy, and the remaining parties, the Liberals and Labour Democrats, had small wings which also rejected the Monarchy. Yet it was a selfappointed Government. None of the parties knew for certain the strength of its following throughout the country; and, as the Rome correspondent of the “ Daily Tele- “ graph ” recently reported, none of the politicians confidently believed that party opinion pn the monarchical issue was a safe guide to the outcome of the referendum. In the result, the people have shown themselves fairly evenly divided, with 55 per cent, of the voters declaring themselves for a republic. It is not the worst possible outcome for the Italian nation. That would have been seen in a narrow vifetory for the Monarchy; for, to quote the “ Daily Telegraph ” again, a Throne “ supported by only, say, 60 per “ cent, of the people would become “ a centre of continuing political “ controversy: a strong Republican “minority would certainly not ac- “ cept defeat as final". Nor, for that matter, may the Monarchists. A troublesome monarchical reaction, however, is less likely, If only because the Republicans are more- solidly' organised on party lines. A near balance, too, has been reached in the election of the Constituent Assembly; but the balance, here, is welcome. The Christian Democrats, of the Centre, win be the largest single party. It is estimated, according to a message today, that the Christian Democrats will have 200 of the Assembly’s 556 seats. On its Right, the Democratic Union will have 33 seats, the Party <>f the Common Man 25, and the Monarchist Party 16. On the -Left of the Christian Democrats will be the Republicans, with 23 seats, the Action Party with 13, the Socialists with 120, and the Communists with 110. The principal concentrations are so evenly matched that a coalition of the three major parties is thought to be the only likely Government. It will mean that there will be scope for bargaining among the parties as they frame the Constitution, and that their task will not be swiftly discharged. But a Constitution that more nearly satisfies the aspirations of all sections of the electorate is more likely to emerge.