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The Cold War country trends Italy: 1953 general election
Italian Second Republican General Election (1953)
Figure 1.--The snapshot was taken on Saturday June 13, 1953, just after the second Reoublican Parlimentarian General Election. It wa tken in Melicucc�, a village in Calabria region, southern Italy. In the background we can see the campaign posters of Socialist Party and the Stella e Corona (Monarchical) Party. As you can see by the hammer and cycle. the Socilisrs were losely allied to Communists and a memembr of the Popilar Front (FP). The boys are quite well clothed. I don't know what the occasion was. perhaps their father wanted a souveier of the election. The boys are holding noise makers, you get the impression they had used them at election rallies.
Italy held another parlimentarian general election (1953). There had been parlimentarian elections in Italy before Mussolini seized power (1923). This was, however, only the second General Election since theItalian Reoublic was established after World War II. The earlier 1948 general election was perhaps the most important Cold War election in Europe. It left the center-left Christian Democrats (CD) in contol and prevented a Communist seizure of power The Popular Front (Communist and Socialist alliance--FP) had come far short of what they had expected. The FP continued, however, to be the principal opposition to the DC and challenged again in the 1953 general election to choose the Second Republican Parliament. It was a test for the CD centrist coalition headed by Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi. The socialist ideal still resonated with many Italians. The Soviet take overs in Eastern Europe does not seem to have affected the Popular Front's supporters. The extent of Stalinist crimes, the Gulag, and economic failure was not well known in the West and the Left was in a state of denial about the reports that had reached the left. Domestic issues, however, would determine the election. A complication was what the oppocition called the DC Scam Law. This probably lost the DC some votes, but the PF failed to capitalize on this. An important factor was the economy. The economy was benfefitting from the generalpost-War economic revovery. The Italian Economic Miraccle had begun, but still in an early phase. This probably explains why the PF did not gaun support, but was not strong enough to undermine PF support. the elections were held on Sunday June 7, 1953. The PF did well in the orivinces just north of Rome. Almost all the rest of the country supported the CD government. This election, the Italian Economic Miracle and the relevations of the Soviet 20th Party Congress as well as Soviet actions in Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia would colasese to make Italy a firm, if somewhat unstble, member of NATO and the Democratic West. The smaller majority of the ruling coalition led to aseries of short term prime ministers, weakening the office. The Communist Party, despite all of what we know about Communism has never disappeared from the Itlian poliyicl scene. The CD lost over 40 sears, but the ruling coalition remained firmly in power. The Popular Front voye remzimed virtually unchanged at aboutv35 oercent of the electorate.
