Stranica 2 [2]
XeAell. December 52.
- page two =
4his very menocing danger of the Communist rarty is further¬
more incr asedad by a very real crisis within the Christian Democracy.
this crisis is not outwardly ap earante it is not one visible to the
nacked eye, tit it si one which at present is seriously endangering the
continuation of de wasperi's gove:nment. The crisis this time, comes
not so much from factional disputes, betue.n the right wing or the
left winge it is something more dangerouse it is the uprising of
young idealist forces against the sordéd realities of Uhristian
Democratic policyé There are two points especially, against «hich
these forces will votes i1t is first of all the hidden, though very
real corrup&ion in the upper rarty brackets. it is an open secret in
nome that many Christian vbemocratic leaders hsve b come extremely
wealthy in office. Names of highly placed persons arc mentionede aA
house cleahing would be urgently needed; but sofar fle Gasperi has
shown no willingness to do so. the young people snd some ola oneg,
like von Sttrzo, d mond that something be done about that situations
mrevarlo retrone, member of Farliament, made these demands publice the
reformers say that the people are get ing very tired indecd ana that
unless something drastic is done, the Christian Democrats might be
defeated by a .andslide. It is interesting to know that the -xample
of the United States is oft n mentioned. Unaoubedly, the atmosphere
is a bad once ang it is increased furthermore by the dissatisfaction
of lurge sections of the Uhrstian Democrats by the way in which the
rarty is Lead. mead rohip todgay in the rarty is absolutely apthoritaria
The present leaders want to perpetuated themselves in office and hence
try to prevent the rising of new forcese ihe Christina Democratic
rarty is no longer a mocratic in its structure, since the rarity
Congress lost all its powerse *#urthernore the reform forces point out
the leaderskip of the rarty has not lived up to its social promisese
the thristian vemocrats hada promisdée to secure an ad quate land roform
in wouthern italye There is no doubt, but that the land situation in
South is bade To much soil is bteld by too fews Sut sofer the
Semocrazia Christiana has taken only balf—-hearted measures to solve
the probleme Thus, the Southern masses fundamentally good Uatholices,
ars graduclly drifting into the communist camp, out of sheer dispaire
wie mast admit in fairness that a land reform would be far of solving
the ter ibl« problem af Italian Ex overpopulation. This is « matter
of international concerns but at least psychologically it .ouid ao
great deal to show to the masses that the vwhristian Democrats are
trving to do somethings Ama in this, sofa., de wasp ri has signally
failede
But where the crisis of the present re.,ime wecomes by far th
most acute, is in the question of monarchy. No one can doubt that
today a large maj rity of Italians want the return of King Eumberto.e
They are sick and tired of the Republice A secret survey made by a high
Italian governmental agency revealed recently that in case of a
plebiscite, over 60% of the *talians would vote for the Monarchye
Th: majority of the Christian Democrats is also in favor of the King.
They damand increasingly that something be done in ofder to give the
peopl a chance to say what they want. But de Gasperi is bitterly
opposed to such a soltthion.
(3.