The Night the Communists Won

It is election night, and the old parties are awaiting the government's victory. In the composing room of the right-wing newspaper Il Tempo, a makeup man puts the banner line into the form: GOVERNMENT WINS WITH LARGE MAJORITY. A state television news director instructs his assistant: "Feed in the usual commentary--that one we used in 1969 will do fine." Forecasters have predicted a government victory, because again, as in previous elections, voters are unable to remember candidates' names. At Communist Party headquarters on Via delle Botteghe Oscure (Street of the Dark Shops), Party Boss Luigi Longo and his friends morosely pick at their pasta.

Then suddenly, "LILY," the American computer imported to speed the vote counting, begins to behave strangely. The Communist vote goes up while the government vote stands still. Everyone laughs and has another glass of champagne. But LILY keeps moving the Communists up. A commentator who sounds like H. V. Kaltenborn in 1948 says, "Wait until the vote from Calabria and Sicily starts coming in."

Startling News. But in the new Italian film Colpo di Stato (Coup d'Etat), the vote never comes in for the government. Playing to packed houses throughout the country, Colpo di Stato gives a fictional view of the Italian general election of 1972. When LILY brings the startling news that the Communists have won, no one is more astonished than the Communists themselves.

The U.S. ambassador, sitting in the place of honor at an Italian Cabinet meeting, hastily leaves to call the White House. Television stations switch to a documentary on flowers. Rich people call friends in the government in various stages of hysteria. The Pope is awakened, hands atwitch.

The U.S. announces that it will protect Italy against the Communists. American missiles rise out of underground silos. Young Communists race through the streets crying "Now we begin the blood bath!" On television an unknown pop singer is belting out Bandiera Rossa (Red Flag). Calls pour in saying how great she is, and the program goes on all night.

Off Balance. The Communists, after telephoning Moscow, are invited to a Cabinet meeting. Says the Premier: "The people have spoken and democratically elected your party . . ."He prepares to hand over power when Luigi Longo suddenly shouts: "Don't try to make fun of us! We know quite well this is all a dirty capitalistic trick. That computer of yours is the trick. You rigged the wiring."

In the cold dawn, it all becomes clear. The Communists have refused to allow themselves to be duped into governing, knowing full well, as do all Italians, that Italy is essentially ungovernable. Longo and his friends leave the Premier's office. The Communist leader is saying wistfully to his deputy: "It would have been nice, though, and you could have been Prime Minister. Too bad. Moscow said the balance of power in Europe should not be destroyed."

It was reminiscent of William F. Buckley Jr., the elegantly acerbic editor of National Review, who campaigned four years ago as a Conservative candidate for mayor of New York. Asked what he would do if elected, Buckley replied, "Demand a recount."

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