ITALY: The Election That Nobody Wanted or Won

It was a premature election that nobody particularly wanted, and when the votes were counted, nobody really won. In Italy's two-day national election last week, the dominant Christian Democrats (D.C.) recovered handsomely from disappointing regional election returns late last spring, but once again failed to gain the majority to form an effective government. The Italian Communist Party (P.C.I.) picked up more votes and more parliamentary seats than ever, but not enough to overcome the Christian Democrats, as supporters had hoped. Italy's center parties, meanwhile, were caught between these political behemoths and were mauled.

Essentially, the only result of Italy's most critical...

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