The Communists Say Aye

Rome enters a new, uncharted political era

In the Green Room of Rome's Chigi Palace, the leaders of five of the most prestigious parties in Italian politics last week added a significant red tint to Europe's most troubled government. It was not the "historic compromise" that would bring Communists to power in Italy, but it was the next, most important step. After 52 days of do-nothing disagreement, Christian Democratic Premier-designate Giulio Andreotti and Communist Party Chief Enrico Berlinguer accepted a "governing agreement" that puts Communists directly in the majority for the first time since 1947, when they were expelled from the postwar Cabinet of Alcide de Gasperi.

Under the agreement, which the smaller Socialist, Social Democratic and Republican parties also ratified, the Communists will henceforth have a direct role in government--not with Cabinet portfolios, but as full, acknowledged partners in Andreotti's parliamentary majority. As Berlinguer put it jubilantly, Italy's big (1.7 million members) Communist Party has reached "the threshold of national leadership responsibility."

Late last week Andreotti presented his new government--Italy's 40th since the collapse of Fascism in 1943--to President Giovanni Leone. The deal will take effect when he asks parliament for a formal vote of confidence this week. For the first time in 31 years on such a vote, the Communists will stand up to say Aye. All parties made it clear that the arrangement was to continue only until the presidential elections at the end of this year.

The step had been the subject of a suspenseful tug of war since mid-January. It was the result of leftist demands for the inclusion of Communists in an "emergency government" to deal with the problems --economic, labor and law-and-order --that brought on the fall of Andreotti's previous Cabinet.

The Christian Democrats had lately enjoyed a resurgence in the opinion polls, but any call for an early election would have further complicated the political situation. The Christian Democrats could probably have expanded the 38.7% of the vote they got in 1976--but only at the expense of other non-Communist parties. The Communists, who got 34.4% of the vote in 1976, would probably also have picked up support. So instead of risking an election, Andreotti skillfully dithered until Berlinguer dropped his call for full Cabinet representation, then made it clear that Berlinguer would have to pay a price for a place in the majority.

Most important, the Communists will have to share responsibility for tough measures aimed at dealing with the problems of big deficits, broad unemployment (1.7 million) and high inflation (at 14%, Europe's worst) that helped touch off the crisis. After Andreotti becomes Premier for the fourth time this week, he plans to cut spending, increase tariffs, curb wage hikes and channel more funds to private investors through loans and tax incentives in order to spur industrial development. He will also try to close a projected $10 billion budget gap by reducing such benefits as medical care and pensions.

Berlinguer moved swiftly to explain how he could support such measures. At a conference of 10,000 trade unionists in Naples, he announced that the Communists "must take on the burden of all the heavy problems to resolve the country's crisis if they are to be a national governing force." He cautioned the faithful to brace for austerity and labor moderation.

Berlinguer will find that hard to sell to many of his constituents. Even with Communist support, the government program will have to stand the test of Italy's three most powerful trade unions. Other complaints were sure to be heard from younger far-leftists, who have long accused Berlinguer of being too ready to barter away the revolution. In a big print shop in an industrial suburb south of Rome, a 50-year-old Communist said angrily: "The party should let the Christian Democrats drown. By supporting them, it is disenchanting the youth, who are the soul of the party. You can see the disenchantment in their [violent] behavior at the universities."

Like Berlinguer, Andreotti also moved swiftly to defend his deal. Christian Democratic spokesmen insisted that the arrangement with the Communists was indeed temporary and not "organic." Said the Christian Democratic newspaper ll Popolo: "The basic differences between the parties are certainly not canceled."

Though Berlinguer has promised to respect Italy's ties to NATO and is expected cautiously not to interfere in foreign relations, there were few cheers abroad for Andreotti's agreement with the Communists. But the Carter Administration, which had earlier expressed a hope that Communist influence in democratic countries would be "reduced," let last week's development pass without public comment. Defending the arrangement, one Italian Cabinet official said that the agreement with the Communists would have the "advantages of clarity and effectiveness" for the government, "because now there is not only a tough, austere and serious economic program, but also a greater Communist commitment." Italians, not to mention doubtful officials in many Western capitals, will be watching the effects of that commitment closely in the months ahead.

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