Between Two Fires
Signor de Gasperi's Christian Democrats have emerged from the Italian elections much weakened but still the strongest single party. The centre coalition which they lead has just failed to gain the absolute majority which would have given' them automatically two-thirds of the seats in the Chambet,1 Communism has increased its strength in proportion to that Government's failure to reform hard enough and fast enough And se have the Monarchists and Fascists. So Signor 41 Gasperi stands uneasily with a majority rather like that which Sir Winston Churchill commands here: but he stands between the absolutist fires of left and right, and can be sure not of any respect for Parliamentary institutions but only of maximum obstruction. Italy is moving into a political storm which will sorely try its tender constitution. Over a million votes were challenged by the Communists (rather more than were declared invalid in 1948). On the face of it one might think that enough should survive further examination to give the Coalition the 57,000 it needs to qualify under the new electoral law for an assured two-thirds majority. But if that happens the uproar will exceed anything heard since the end of the war. The Communists will fight with every weapon to retain their advantage. There is little prospect of stability for Italy.
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