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"Viva! Viva!" It has been about 15 years since De Gasperi dug his climbing boots and pickax into an Alp, but he still suffers the mountaineer's fever—the looking for other peaks to climb while still chivvying and picking his way up the peak beneath his feet. "He always sees the next summit," explained a friend. Last week in Genoa, where bombed-out ruins of the past are still visible behind the shiny new fagades of the present, he stood before a mass of dockworkers and shipworkers.
"My opponents say that I wish to remain in power," said he. "I would be very happy to step down, not only from the government but also from the political scene. But I have a profound conviction that I should stay.
"When men like Terracini refuse to obey further orders of the Cominform, when the Socialists find the courage to liberate themselves from Communism . . .
when the conception of liberty completely penetrates into the Italian soul, when democracy is here to stay, when we recognize only one law, one pledge and one flag, when violence is no longer exalted or revenge invoked—on that day, and only on that day, will I lay these old bones of mine down and be at peace." From thousands of pockets, Genoans grabbed handkerchiefs to wave. "Viva! Viva!" rose their cry, like Alpine thunder.
The old man of the mountains took out his own handkerchief and waved back.
* Meaning Umberto II. In 1946 Victor Emmanual III abdicated the throne to Crown Prince Umberto. But Umberto went into exile near Lisbon only a month later, after Italians voted (6 to 5) to abolish the monarchy.