ITALY: The Communists Seize the Initiative

As campaigning for Italy's special national election on June 20 began last week, the Communists—perhaps prophetically—seemed to be first off the mark. From Rome top party officials fanned out to speak at urban rallies across the country, disciplined young Communist workers—like sports fans lined up early for scarce tickets to a soccer match—laid siege to courthouses to file for the top spot on Italy's complicated ballots, granted on a first-come first-served basis. Almost invariably, the Communists beat out representatives of the eleven other parties.

The central act in the Communist kickoff took...