Double Election

Italy's Senate is almost unique among Europe's upper houses. It is not a society of deliberative gentlemen remote from the legislative process, but has the same veto over proposed laws as the lower Chamber, and the same power to turn out a government by an 'adverse vote of confidence.

Strangest of all was the method of choosing the Senators for the first postwar term. Of the 344 Senators, 107 were Senators "by right," which means that they got their seats automatically: five appointed by the President for bringing renown to Italy; one for being an ex-President ; the rest for being oldtime anti-Fascist legislators or longterm political prisoners under Fascism. This constitutional oddity has worked to the Reds' advantage. They elected only 36 Senators in 1948, but picked up a bonus of 31 more seats "by right" among ex-prisoners. Together with the fellow-traveling Nenni Socialist faction, this gave them a solid 100-man obstructionist bloc in the Senate, and golden opportunities for delaying and debauching the democratic process, as they proved in the Palm Sunday rumpus over electoral reform (TIME, April 6), when furniture flew and members grappled. Last week, the time and opportunity ripe, Premier Alcide .de Gasperi decided to move against his Communist enemies in the Senate. Five years having passed since the last election, it was constitutionally mandatory to dissolve the lower Chamber and order a new election; Senators serve for six years, and still have a year to go. But De Gasperi had had enough. The Senate as well as the Chamber was dissolved, and June 7 was set as the election date for both houses.

Dissolution automatically canceled the seats of all Red Senators "by right," and the Communists roared with anger. De Gasperi replied: "We have been the target of attacks, the butt of calumny and insults for days and nights, weeks and months. We kept silent . . . This reserve of ours may have made our opponents believe that we lacked both arguments and courage. I hope they have been enlightened by now."

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