Italy: Cautious Marriage

After years of discussion, Italy's apertura a sinistra ("opening to the left") last week became a risky reality. In effect, the Christian Democratic Party shed some of its right-wing allies in parliament and went into partnership with Pietro Nenni's left-wing Socialists, who had long been working closely with the Communists. Chief architect of the experiment is shrewd, scholarly Premier Amintore Fanfani, who believes that only through the Nenni alliance can he muster the votes needed for necessary domestic reforms (TIME, Feb. 9). But many left-wingers predict gloomily that Nenni will become a hostage of the right, while conservatives fear that...

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