Swift Carpentry

Cossiga's new Cabinet

For years the prevailing wisdom in Rome has held that no effective Italian government could be formed without the support of the powerful Communists. Last week, with an alacrity that was unusual for Rome politics, Premier Francesco Cossiga, 51, put the lie to that notion: the Christian Democratic leader not only succeeded in forming a surprisingly solid-looking government but pushed the Communists into outright opposition.

Cossiga's new government, the 39th since the end of World War II, revives the old center-left alliance that ruled Italy for more than a decade after 1962. The three-party coalition Cabinet is made up of 16 Christian Democrats, nine Socialists and three members of the small, centrist Republican Party. It will have a majority of 25 in the 630-seat Chamber of Deputies the first clear majority any Italian government has enjoyed in six years.

It was nailed together swiftly, ending a government crisis of only 16 days, one of the briefest on record. The speed was also due to President Alessandro Pertini, 83. Following the collapse of Cossiga's fragile minority "government of truce" last month, he urgently summoned Cossiga, even though it was Sunday, and asked him to try again to form a government. "The unemployed don't stop worrying on Sunday," explained Pertini, "nor do the Red Brigades stop shooting."

The key Jo the new equation was ambitious Socialist Leader Bettino Craxi, 46. Before, he had persistently refused to join any alliance that did not also include Enrico Berlinguer's Communists. When the Christian Democrats last month ruled out any such deala reflection of stiffening anti-Communist public opinion in the wake of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistanthe Socialists withdrew their tepid support of Cossiga's minority government. Since then, however, Craxi has decided to switch rather than fight: exploiting a tilt to the right in his own party, he persuaded his central committee to back him in joining a government without the Communists. In exchange he is to have a stronger role in policymaking and a commitment from the Christian Democrats not to veto a possible Socialist Premier in the futuremeaning Craxi, naturally.

The Communists appeared to be in no mood for a confrontation. Still smarting from their slippage in elections last year, they have suffered further political damage because of a resurgence of leftist terrorism. Said Party Spokesman Antonio Tato: "Our opposition will be determined on an issue-by-issue basis, not from a preconceived position of hostility."

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