When 1/3 of Italian electorate was communist - Historum

**AlpinLuke** · December 11th, 2011, 12:06 PM

I don't know if you are aware of the history of the Republic of Italy during the Cold War.

Sure it was a reason of concern for Western capitals and of hope for Moscow.

A large part of Italian electorate voted Communist and socialist [adding the two components of the left we had an important 40% or even more].

Observers from abroad [overall from Anglo-Saxon countries, since also in France the communists have known periods of democratic success and in Germany they had to declare illegal the communist party in some way] can find this really difficult to understand.

Now, as I've said in other occasions I was considered "an enemy of communism" so my opinion can be seen as politically biased [I cannot avoid this judgment, and so it's better to make immediately clear which is my perspective].

Which were the reasons of the success of communism in the Italian democracy?

**AlpinLuke** · December 11th, 2011, 12:12 PM

I suggest some points to begin a discussion.

First of all, the anti fascism.

Italian socialists and communists were anti fascists [socialist members of the Parliament knew the death because of this at the beginning of Mussolini's dictatorship].

Moreover, during the Nazi occupation, the communist and the socialist parties played a great role in the "Partisan War" against the Nazis and the Fascists of the Republic of Salò.

To this points I would add a consideration about the Church.

Fascism had signed the "concordato" with the Catholic Church and a part of the communist were against the Catholic Church because of ideological reasons. The connection Fascism - Vatican gave further motivation to see the new democratic system focused on the Christian [Catholic] democrats as something not above suspicion.

Then we have got, in Italy, decades of blockade of modern social development. Catholic traditionalism dominated our societies for many years. Divorce in Italy has been illegal until early 70's. If a husband or a wife abandoned home the police took him/her to bring him/her back home ...

**AlpinLuke** · December 11th, 2011, 12:15 PM

The communist vote was a young anti system vote, a vote given to something which seemed to be different, new, perhaps better, more free, more evolved towards the future.

And Italian communism at the end disengaged itself from Soviet power [late 70's when during the war against red terrorism the Italian Communist Party accepted to join a government of national unity].

Sure it was a wide and interesting social phenomenon which has influenced Italy, in its entirety for about 3 decades [60's, 70's, 80's].

**falcon** · December 11th, 2011, 01:32 PM

Actually the Leftist vote in Italy, Communists+leftist Socialists+other leftist parties was close to 50%, and I think sometimes even passed that.
However it was mostly the Eurocommunist type that adhered to multiparty democratic rule.
After WWII the communists in Italy did not try to come to power using armed conflict, and plunging the country into a civil war like they did in Greece where the civil war started even while the Germans were still occupying Greece in 1943, and lasted until 1949 long after the Germans had left.
For most of its time the Italian Communist Party in the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's wasn't really a Stalinist party obeying uncle Joe blindly.

**AlpinLuke** · December 11th, 2011, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by falcon

Actually the Leftist vote in Italy, Communists+leftist Socialists+other leftist parties was close to 50%, and I think sometimes even passed that.
However it was mostly the Eurocommunist type that adhered to multiparty democratic rule.
After WWII the communists in Italy did not try to come to power using armed conflict, and plunging the country into a civil war like they did in Greece where the civil war started even while the Germans were still occupying Greece in 1943, and lasted until 1949 long after the Germans had left.
For most of its time the Italian Communist Party in the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's wasn't really a Stalinist party obeying uncle Joe blindly.

Yes, in Italy the communists showed a well different attitude towards democracy than in other countries.

At level of Communist International situation was not the same and the Italian communists some times have played a curious role between a part of the base supporting the Soviets and a great majority of its electorate preferring the class fight in the context of the Western society.