Italy: Opening to the Right

When Italy's center-left coalition was formed eight months ago, the crucial question was who would do what to whom. Would the apertura a sinistra ("opening to the left") pull the Christian Democrats and other center parties leftward? Or would the Socialist Party, long allied with the Communists, move toward the center?

The nationalization of the power industry (TIME, Oct. 5), a meaningless economic move, was a sop to the Socialists, who hold no Cabinet posts, but whose 88 votes in the Chamber of Deputies keep Premier Amintore Fanfani's government in power. The...

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