New Candidate

In the scramble caused by another Premier's fall, the Christian Democrats groped for a new candidate to govern Italy. The key man in the operation turned out to be a practiced and familiar politico: Alcide de Gasperi.

Many thought 72-year-old De Gasperi, premier for eight years, had chosen the road to retirement after his fall last summer. He seemed content, after a period of rest, to run the Christian Democrats from the secretary general's office and let others sit in the Premier's palazzo. But, as Italian politicians became increasingly aware, De Gasperi had no intention whatever of fading away. Colleagues were convinced that, given the proper time & place and good prospects of success, nothing would please the old leader more than to be called once again to form a government. Until the right time came, he would let other Christian Democratic leaders knock themselves out. He stayed loftily above the party's internecine quarrels, leaving the impression that Alcide de Gasperi was the one & only man who could bring the party out of its trouble.

Quarreling Politicos. In a caucus last week, the divided Christian Democrats fell to arguing bitterly. One of them reproached Amintore Fanfani for insisting on a showdown in the Chamber of Deputies even when it was clear he would lose (TIME, Feb. 8). Fanfani in reply cast a reflection on his critic's political past. The critic recalled hotly that Fanfani had once been a Fascist Party member. Fanfani next had words with his immediate senior in the ranks of fallen Premiers, Giuseppe Pella. Pella, said Fanfani to the caucus, had told him that politics was "such a dirty business" that he was going to quit it. Replied Pella frigidly: "I am sorry if I gave you any such hope."

Politician De Gasperi adroitly stayed out of this blame throwing, but was not neglected by the blame throwers. Pella's supporters say that De Gasperi let them down in January when Pella tried to transform his caretaker government into a more permanent one. Now that the party was in trouble, many others who once sang De Gasperi's praises criticized him. They blamed the election setbacks on De Gasperi's electoral-reform law, which he himself now concedes to have been a mistake. They acknowledged the greatness of De Gasperi's 1948 triumph and admired the nobility of his character, but in retrospect were more & more inclined to question his method of governing--his cautious system of checks & balances, his day-to-day decisions designed more to achieve political balance than economic balance. On this characteristic they blamed De Gasperi's failure to get EDC approved in a pro-Western Chamber of Deputies, and Italy's failure for six years--despite $3 billion in U.S. aid--to decrease Communist strength.

Center Coalition. Last week at his Castel Gandolfo home, De Gasperi assembled the quarreling party leaders. He told them that the Christian Democrats must again try to assemble a coalition of the democratic center. Alliance with the right-wing Monarchists (40 seats) was out; De Gasperi was bitter toward them for cutting into Demo-Christian strength in the last elections, has been heckling them ever since. There remained three small splinter parties, all democratic. The Republicans (five seats) and Liberals (14) could be won, but also needed were the independent Socialists of Giuseppe Saragat (19 seats). Saragat's price was high: four out of 18 or 19 ministries, with Finance for Saragat himself. De Gasperi & Co. whittled Saragat down to three Cabinet posts, promised the Liberals two, Republicans one. The four parties struck a bargain, forming a coalition which could count on a majority of at the most 16 out of 590 votes in the Chamber of Deputies.

At week's end the Christian Democrats informed President Luigi Einaudi that they had a workable coalition and handed him a list of five possible Premiers. At the top of the list: Alcide de Gasperi. But De Gasperi told Einaudi that he did not want to be Premier now. Next on the list was baldheaded Mario Scelba, the tough, Sicilian-born lawyer who grew into the scourge of Italy's Communists and the No. 2 man in the government during his six years as De Gasperi's Interior Minister. It was he whom Einaudi picked this week to make a try--the fifth in seven months.

There were prompt rumblings from Saragat's Social Democrats that De Gasperi should have been the man. Scelba, who leans to the left, is widely respected as an able administrator and tough cop. He built the Italian police into a 190,000-man force, made it the scourge of the Communists and neo-fascist troublemakers. But he has made many enemies. A man of action, Scelba will have to be careful how he acts if he wants to be confirmed as Premier. A switch of only nine votes, perhaps even fewer, will be enough to topple him.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.