US Intervention In Italy:1948 Elections

11 Pages 2795 Words

States aid and the cancellation of one billion dollars worth of debt owed to the United States relied exclusively on the Italian Premier dissolving his communist cabinet members. The choice was obvious to de Gasperi and he quickly complied with the United States demand by ousting all leftist opposition in his cabinet.
If the United States felt good about winning this battle, the events in early 1948 would make them feel unsure as to the possible outcome of the April elections. In an effort to maximize their combined popularity, the Italian Communist Party (PCI) joined forces with the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) and became the known as the Popular Democratic Front (PDF). The outcome of this bold move quickly became realized as the PDF easily won a February municipal vote in Pescara with a ten percent increase in popularity from their previous vote in 1946, adding insult to the democratic cause the Christian Democrats finishing a distant second. This event rang the alarm in the Truman administration that more intervention had to be arr...