Communist Strike Efficiency Surprises Italy

Grey River Argus, 30 August 1948, Page 7

Communist Strike Efficiency Surprises Italy

(From Henry Buckley, Reuter’s Correspondent). ROME (By Airmail) Italy was taken / aback by the smoothness and rapidity with which the Communist-dominated, seven million strong, National Labour Confederation was able to paralyse the whole national life within a few hours following the attempted murder of Palmiro Togliatti, the Italian Communist leader. Most obvservers agreed that elaborate preliminary preparations for a nation-wide general strike already existed anl that this might have come towards the end of July, possibly in combination with a similar movement in France. Supporters of ‘-the De Gasperi Coalition Cabinet argue that there could be nothing spontaneous about moves such as occurred at Turin, where all factories were occupied, Workers’ Committees formed and placed in charge of the works, and the leading industrialists made prisoners in their offices, within 'a matter of a few hours after the attempt to murder Togliatti outside Rome’s Parliament building. At Genoa too, it is stressed, armed Communist forces took ovei the town so quickly anl erected barricades in the main streets with such rapidity that the police were taken by surprise and in great part surrendered without resistance, aftei which kev points such as the telephone exchange were taken over by the Communists. Such rapid moves, Government supporters assert, could in no way be claimed to form part of a simple strike of protests against, the attempt on Togliatti’s life. The Cabinet of Alcide De Gasperi is preparing measures to avoid being again caught off its guard. These are likely to include plans for the immediate mobilisation of reservists, or others liable to military service, for technical services such as railways and transport in general electricity, gas, baking and milling. » A still greater strengthening of the police forces and their equipment with modern weapons will probably be carried out and the partisans from the police services is likely to be continued. Signor De Gasperi has already promised legislation limiting the right to strike and placing the responsibility on union leaders for strikes not essentially of a social character. The Government is likewise expected to legislate to prevent any recrudescence of Fascist activities.

The one existing party with as Fas-cist-type programme at present is the Italian Social. Movement which had little success at the last elections and gained only six seats in the Chamber and one in the Senate. It has a daily newspaper in Rome entitled “Ordine Sociale” but its circulation is not believed to exceed several tens of thousands. There appears to be a certain amount of sympathy for Fascism in university stu dent circles; but there has not so far been any evidence of any' organisation of youth, or others, of a type dedicated to the use of violence Rome’s “Giornale D’ltalia” and several other daily newspapers in Rome are strongly Nationalistic in their editorial policy, strongly anti-Com-munist in tone and apt to show friendliness towards persons and events of the Fascist past, but the violence of language used by these newspapers does not exceed, and probably is considerably less than that of the Communist press whose violence of language, political observers record, has steadily increased since April 18. Most political observers of moderate tendencies agree in not seeing any danger of a swing back to Fascism in Italy at present. It is true to say that the violence of the recent general strike is likely to accentuate the already strong body of anti-Com-munist feeling reflected in the returns of the elections of April 18 and there is, of course, no way of knowing where such a state of opinion may eventually lead. For the present, however, most moderate political groups feel reasonably certain that a Cabinet which contains such life-long Democrats as Signor Alcido De Gasperi. Signor Randolfo Pacciardi, who commands the Garibaldi Brigade in Spain, the Socialist, Giuseppe Saragat, and others, can betaken as a guarantee that no dictatorial regime is likely to return to Italy for the time being.