ITALY
Fanfani's Promotion
OSBERT HASTINGS writes from Rome : President Saragat arrived home from his rather spectacular tour of South America to a twenty- one-gun salute, leaving behind him in New York his Foreign Minister, Signor Fanfani, who had been elected President of the twentieth session of the United Nations General Assembly. It was a starry way to inaugurate the autumn political season and one of a kind which Italians like best for its combination of international prestige with some fascinating speculations in internal politics.
The Head of State went to six Latin American countries : Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Venezuela. He possesses gifts which none of his predecessors in office could claim in such variety. He has a breadth of imagination when dealing with large issues and there \\ no doubt that the destiny of Latin America in- spired him to some characteristically large-scale thinking. He was struck by the social problems of a continent which is struggling to find the framework for dealing with an increase in popu- lation estimated to bring its total number 01 inhabitants to something in the region of 500 million by the end of the century. What also impressed him was the warmth of his welcome, which by no means entirely depended on the
presence in these countries of large Italian com- munities. Immense crowds, he said, acclaimed Italy in a manner that could scarcely happen in any other part of the world. All this led him to the conclusion that Italy has a unique idle in helping the development of a continent likely to have a profound and growing influence on the international scene.
His vision, as he explained it in his speeches during his tour and at his return, depends on two elements. The first requires a diminution of nationalistic rivalries and a degree of co-opera- tion among the countries of Latin America. The second is the fastening of the continent firmly in the Western system. His call for greater co- operation inside Latin America was probably a conscious rebuttal of the more nationalistically inclined approach put forward by General de Gaulle during his Latin American tour last year. It was none the less constructive for that and naturally foresaw a crucial part for Italy as a link between a partnership including the United States, Europe and Latin America. The lines are broad, but there is no denying that Italy, of all the Common Market countries, has the closest ties with Latin America in blood, religion and social aspiration. The obstacles are, of course, in Latin America itself. Italy can hardly do much to remove them, but a sympathetic ear and a generous idea for the future can at least help.
Signor Saragat himself described the election• of Signor Fanfani as a sign of the esteem enjoyed by Italian policy abroad. It means that the Italian Foreign Minister will be able in a matter of a few days to.realise a dream which few Christian Democratic politicians of an avowedly confessional party could as much as contemplate: on October 4 he will be the Pope's chairman when His Holiness addresses the General Assembly on the first secular mission in the name of peace undertaken by a Roman Pontiff, just as it is the first time that a Pope will have crossed the Atlantic.
No one in Italian pcilitics is shrewder than Signor Fanfani in drawing tactical advantage from a favourable situation and he has not
allowed his election to throw him off his balance in internal matters at home. He is retaining the day-by-day running of the Foreign Ministry throughout his period of office at the United Nations, refusing any suggestion, which would probably be favoured by his Prime Minister, Signor Moro, to hand over at least temporarily his cabinet post. Signor Fanfani is .a leading personality in the party who still has plenty of ambitions for the future. His own faction in the Christian Democratic party has lately been weakened. Internal politics are for the moment functioning only sluggishly, partly because of the dilatory conduct of affairs by the alliance of Christian Democrats and Socialists, which should have been the strength, but is in fact the cause of stalemate in the present government; and, secondly, because a crop of congresses are due this autumn, including the Socialist national congress, which could touch off a government crisis. It is not the moment for a shrewd man to disengage too much from domestic politics, even for the heady heights of announcing peace in Kashmir or greeting the Pope at the United Nations. Signor Fanfani is an impulsive tactician, but he would not forget the routine of looking to his political interests at home while doing the honours in the world community.
President Saragat can go no higher. He can, ' and fully intends to, use his personal vigour to enhance the Italian position in international affairs and to keep a progressive stamp on governmental efforts at home aimed at tackling the country's social problems. Signor Fanfani has had the Prime Ministership several times and could have it again. He has also been a candi- date for the Presidency and could be again, Flying high is exhilarating, especially when the speed can be judged by reference to one's home ground.
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