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filte rs; doc tors find it imposs ible to
operate; hospital administrators are
refusing to accept patients; con–
tractors have stopped supplying
hospitals because hospitals do not
pay them.
Distrust of government, which
was ca rried over after the war, has
grown rather than abated. Politi–
cians were sucked into the vortex of
political power. They enjoyed the
prestige and posit ion but were un–
able to root out and hea l the basic
problems of the nation.
Italy has already had 36 govern–
ments since the war. each averaging
less than 10 months. Yet each gov–
ernment is formed basically of the
same men. but in ditferent cabinet
posi tions. l nstead of being the
source of bold initiative or solid ac–
tion to solve sorne of the agonizing
woes facing the na tion, the govern –
ment has become less and less cred–
ible to the people. For Antonio's
father and many of his countrymen.
there have beco too many charges
of graft and corruption. of Swiss
bank accounts and huge payotfs
from oil companies to government
leaders.
And meanwhile. governmental
services worsen. When Antonio
fi–
nally managed a la boriously written
letter and mailed it off to his cousin
in the north. it never got there.
Along with thousands of tons of
mail of all classes. including regis–
tered mail. it was "lost." burned or
simply ground into pulp for recy–
cling. More seriously. Antonio's
elderly aunt and thousands of other
people often never receive their so–
cia l security checks and s imilar
forms of payment coming by mail.
Overburdened postal workers have
simply diverted the letters else–
where, never to be recovered.
With such problems remaining
unsolved, unhappiness and mist rust
of government is escalating. When
asked whom he felt could solve the
problems in Italy. one taxi driver
responded. " Right now. no one."
Fascist Reviva!?
One of Antonio's countrymen ex–
presses a widespread concern:
PLAIN TRUTH October-November 1974
There is a danger of Fascist sub–
version. 1 sense in recent mon ths a
fee lin g of ge n e rali zed di s–
content.... lt 's very difficul t to li ve
in ltaly right now. Telephones don't
work, the trains don't work, privi–
lege remains - there appears to be
no way out. Children die and hospi–
tals are not built, but the political
parties continue to be paid....
People may soon get fed up, if it
continues lo cut into their bread–
basket too long. This would be ter–
rible because it would be thc cnd of
the coun try.
Giovanni Agnelli, the chairman
of Fiat and one of the leading in–
dustrialists in l taly, stated: ' ' Ita ly is
producing 100 and spending 120;
we a re living beyond our means and
that leads to bankruptcy."
Writing in
Vision.
Europe's lead–
ing business magazine, Livio Mag–
nani put it even more pointedly:
ltalians are now li ving fa r bcyond
the ir means ... ltheyl have contin–
ued to squande r their resources and
companies have continued to run
into debt up lo their necks - lo
such a point that the monetary au–
thorities in turn have had lo run up
foreign debts.
What 's Ahead for ltaly?
Up to now. ltaly's near bank–
ruptcy has been eased by grants.
aids and loans from its more stable
Western allies - notably Germany,
who recently granted Italy a two–
billion-dollar loan secured by one
sixth of Italy's gold reserve. Fellow
Common Market membe rs feel
ltaly is too important to allow politi–
cal chaos to take over because of
monetary instability.
But now these helpful neighbors
have problems of their own. For the
first time, the enti re industrialized
Wes t is facing a perpetua! deficit in
balance of payments.
~t
the same
time. inflation has soared virtually
out of control.
The economic crisis is com–
pounded by the political c ri ses
spreading in the Middle East. No
longer limited to the Arabs and the
J ews. but now encompassing the
Greeks and the Turks, the stability
of the entire Mediterranean region
is deteriorating. ltaly cannot escape
the pressures.
For Antonio's ltaly. the near fu–
ture portends major changes. Fiat
chairman Agnelli. speaking of both
ft aly and the West, stated: "Major
transformations of our society are
unavoidable because the alternative
is, quite simply, world chaos."
While tank-filled streets and
black-shirted Fascists are not neces–
sa rily on the agenda. l taly wi ll cer–
tainly sutfer further unrest in
government. As one observer men–
tioned: "We're either headed to–
ward (coalition] government with
the communists - wh ich is the last
straw in trying to use the parlia–
mentary system to make it work -
or we're headed into the unknown."
Wherever that "unknown" leads,
the res t of Europe could be dragged
along in its wake - for three major
reasons: (1) increasing European in–
terdependence on the Arab world.
Mideast o il pressures have spurred a
tremendous European investment
on the southern shore of the Medi–
terranean. ltaly's boot provides Eu–
rope a needed geographical toehold
in the region. To protect her invest–
ments and her vital oil li feline, Eu–
rope desperately needs a stable
ltaly: (2) the collapsing southern
tlank ofNATO in the wake ofTurk–
is h-Greek hos tility over Cyprus
makes ltaly st rategica lly importan t
for Western Europe: and (3) future
policies emanating from the Vati–
can. In spi te of its present decline.
the Roman Catholic church is the
on ly institution or heritage which
the diverse peoples of Western Eu–
rope can possibly claim as having in
common. As secu lar as Europe is
today. that bond will most certainly
be revived whenever the Continent
is desperate for unity.
lt is more than likely that before
Antonio has finished his school
days. Italy wi ll have run the infla–
tionary gauntlet. as the test na tion.
into a radically changed future for
both Western Europe and the
Middle East.
O
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