ITALY BETWEEN LEFT & RIGHT FIFTEEN MONTHS AGO, WHEN ITALIAN PREMIER AMINTORE 
FANFANI MARCHED HIS MODERATE CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY THROUGH THE APERTURA A 
SINISTRA (OPENING TO THE LEFT) INTO A PARLIAMENTARY PARTNERSHIP WITH THE 
LEFT-WING SOCIALISTS, HE ACKNOWLEDGED THE DEAL AS A DANGEROUS GAMBLE . 
" WE SHALL CERTAINLY HAVE SOME SLEEPLESS NIGHTS, " HE SAID 
. BY NOW, FANFANI MUST BE A HOPELESS INSOMNIAC . LAST 
WEEK NEARLY 33 MILLION ITALIANS WENT TO THE POLLS FOR NATIONAL 
ELECTIONS AND REWARDED THEIR EXPERIMENTING PREMIER WITH A JOLTING SETBACK THAT 
COST HIS PARTY 730,000 VOTES AND MAY WELL COST HIM HIS 
JOB . THE APERTURA MIGHT SURVIVE, BUT ITS FUTURE LIKE FANFANI'S 
WOULD BE RISKIER THAN EVER . ASHEN-FACED, THE PINTSIZE (5 FT 
. 1 IN.) PREMIER FACED REPORTERS IN THE CHIGI PALACE ON 
ELECTION NIGHT WITH UNCOMMON SHOCK . " THE CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS, " 
HE DECLARED, " HAVE BEEN DECLARED AS THE RELATIVE MAJORITY PARTY, 
EVEN IF BY A NARROWER MARGIN THAN BEFORE . AND NOW 
TO BED . " PAPAL PAL . TO BED INDEED . 
FANFANI ALREADY HAD NEWS OF THE MASSIVE GAINS OF PALMIRO TOGLIATTI'S 
COMMUNISTS, WHO IMPROVED THEIR POSITION AS THE COUNTRY'S SECOND LARGEST PARTY 
(AFTER THE CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS), WON 25 PER CENT OF THE ENTIRE 
NATION'S VOTES, AND 26 NEW SEATS IN THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES 
. THE REDS NOW HOLD A TOTAL OF 166 OF THE 
CHAMBER'S 630 PLACES, COMPARED WITH THE CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS' 260 . UNDER 
THE SHREWD LEADERSHIP OF AGING (70) COMMUNIST BOSS PALMIRO TOGLIATTI, THE 
REDS HAVE ALWAYS TAKEN CARE TO BALANCE THEIR IDEOLOGY AGAINST THE 
FACT THAT ITALY IS A CATHOLIC NATION . AT ONE TIME 
THEY BACKED THE MONARCHY ; NOWADAYS THEY EVEN FAVOR THE CAPITALIST 
COMMON MARKET . AS A NATION, ITALY IS LESS THAN A 
CENTURY OLD ; FIRST UNDER THE MONARCHY, THEN THROUGH THE LONG 
NIGHT OF FASCISM, THE COUNTRY HAS HAD LITTLE TIME TO ACCUSTOM 
ITSELF TO DEMOCRACY . THUS, TO MANY ITALIANS, COMMUNISM OR AT 
LEAST THEIR BRAND OF IT DOES NOT APPEAR THE FEARFUL SPECTER 
THAT IT DOES IN MANY OTHER LANDS . IN PART, THE 
COMMUNIST SHOWING WAS DUE TO RED DEFECTIONS FROM PIETRO NENNI'S SHARPLY 
DIVIDED SOCIALISTS, THE LEFTWING CROWD THAT HAD THROWN ITS LOT WITH 
FANFANI . AND IN PART IT WAS DUE TO POPE JOHN 
XXIII, WHO HAD GIVEN A MODICUM OF APPROVAL TO THE FAR 
LEFT WITH HIS PACEM IN TERRIS ENCYCLICAL, AND WITH HIS WARM 
WELCOME TO THE VATICAN LAST MARCH FOR NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV'S VISITING SON-IN-LAW, 
ALEKSEI ADZHUBEI . NEW LOW . FROM THE RIGHT, APERTURA'S CHIEF 
CHALLENGE WAS AMONG THE FREE-ENTERPRISING LIBERALS, WHO MORE THAN DOUBLED THEIR 
PREVIOUS VOTE OF 1,000,000 ; THIS WAS A SPECTACULAR GAIN, EVEN 
IF IT AMOUNTED TO ONLY 7 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL 
TURNOUT . MOST OF THE CREDIT WENT TO TIRELESS LIBERAL CAMPAIGNER 
GIOVANNI MALAGODI, 58, A BANKER TURNED POLITICIAN, WHO HIT OUT HARD 
AT FANFANI'S SCHEMES FOR MORE GOVERNMENT PLANNING AND HIGHER TAXES . 
IT WAS FANFANI'S OWN CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS WHO TOOK THE WORST DRUBBING 
OF ALL . THE PARTY HAD NO TROUBLE REMAINING IN FIRST 
PLACE WITH 11.7 MILLION BALLOTS, BUT ON A PERCENTAGE BASIS IT 
SANK TO THE LOWEST SHARE OF THE TOTAL VOTE (ABOUT 38 
PER CENT ) SINCE WORLD WAR II . SUMMED UP ROME'S 
IL MESSAGGERO : INTERNAL DISSENSION AND " INCESSANT CLAMOR HAD THE 
EFFECT OF DRIVING AWAY VOTERS . THE PARTY LOST THE FRIGHTENED, 
THE CONFUSED AND THE INDECISIVE . " IL MESSAGGERO'S ADVICE TO 
STOP SQUABBLING WENT UNHEEDED . LAST WEEK RIGHT-WING CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS, WHO 
OPPOSED THE APERTURA IN THE FIRST PLACE, SEIZED THE ELECTION RESULTS 
AS A SIGNAL TO DEMAND THAT FANFANI STEP ASIDE AS PREMIER 
IN THE NEW GOVERNMENT PROBABLY TO BE FORMED THIS MONTH . 
