Difference between revisions 5289433 and 5289434 on simplewiki

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox Prime Minister 
| name               = Alcide De Gasperi
| image              = Alcide de Gasperi 2.jpg
| order              = [[List of Prime Ministers of Italy|30th]] [[Prime Minister of Italy]]
| monarch            = [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Victor Emmanuel III]]<br>[[Umberto II of Italy|Umberto II]]
| president    	     = [[Enrico De Nicola]] <br> [[Luigi Einaudi]]
(contracted; show full)

==American support==
De Gasperi enjoyed considerable support in the US, where he was seen as the man who could oppose the rising tide of Communism – in particular the PCI, which was the biggest communist party in a Western European democracy. In January 1947 he visited the US. The chief goals of the trip were to soften the terms of the pending peace treaty with Italy, and to obtain immediate economic assistance. His ten-day tour, engineered by media mogul [[Henry Luce]] – the owner of 
''[[Time M(magazine]])|Time]]'' magazine – and his wife [[Clare Boothe Luce]] the future ambassador to Rome, was viewed as a media "triumph," prompting positive comments of a wide section of the American press.<ref name=white>[http://www.arts.mun.ca/congrips/newsletter/61%20-%20Fall%202005.pdf De Gasperi through American Eyes: Media and Public Opinion, 1945–53], by Steven F. White, in: Italian Politics and Society, No.61 Fall/Winter 2005</ref>

(contracted; show full)es. The Catholic Church in Italy worked hard to encourage people to vote against communist candidates. The Christian Democratic propaganda became famous in claiming that in Communist countries "children sent parents to jail", "children were owned by the state", "people ate their own children", and claiming disaster would strike Italy if the left were to take power.<ref name=tim120448>[http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,779791,00.html Show of Force], 
''Time M'' magazine, 12 April 1948</ref><ref name=tim190448>[http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,798374,00.html How to Hang On], ''Time M'' magazine, 19 April 1948</ref> 

In the US a campaign was launched to prevent a victory of the Communist dominated [[Popular Democratic Front (Italy)|Popular Democratic Front]] (FDP – {{lang-it|Fronte Democratico Popolare}}). Italian-Americans were encouraged to write letters to their relatives in Italy. The popular Italian-American singer [[Frank Sinatra]] made a [[Voice of America]] radio broadcast. The [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) funneled "black bag" contributions to anti-communist candidates with the approval of the [[National Security Council]] and President [[Harry S. Truman|Truman]]. [[Joseph P. Kennedy]] and Claire Booth Luce helped to raise US$2&nbsp;million for the Christian Democrat Party.<ref>[http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ch24cld.html  The Cold War Begins], Frank Eugene Smitha</ref> ''Time M'' magazine backed the campaign and featured De Gasperi on its 19 April 1948 issue’s cover and in its lead story.<ref name=tim190448/> (He would appear on a Time cover again on 25 May 1953, during the campaign for that year's election, with an extensive biography.<ref name=time250553>[http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/printout/0,8816,890557,00.html Man from the Mountains], ''Time M'' magazine, 25 May 1953</ref>)

The Christian Democrats won a resounding victory with 48.5 percent of the vote (their best result ever) and strong majorities in both the Chamber of Deputies and Senate. The communists received only half of the votes they had in 1946.   Although De Gasperi could have formed an exclusively DC government, he opted instead to form a new centrist coalition.  He ruled for five more years, helming four additional coalitions. "De Gasperi’s policy is patience," according(contracted; show full)

==See also==
* [[Alcide de Gasperi Building]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist|30em}}
* [http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/printout/0,8816,890557,00.html Man from the Mountains], biography in 
''Time M'' magazine, 25 May 1953
* [http://www.fondazionedegasperi.it/Inglese/page.asp?IDCategoria=782&IDSezione=4837&ID=94726 Alcide De Gasperi and his age: A chronology of the Statesman's life and works], Alcide De Gasperi Foundation
* [http://www.degasperi.net/index.php Alcide De Gasperi (1881–1954)] by Pier Luigi Ballini,  Alcide De Gasperi in the history of Europe

==Further reading==
(contracted; show full)[[Category:Italian journalists]]
[[Category:Italian philologists]]
[[Category:Cold War leaders]]
[[Category:Italian anti-communists]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:Burials at San Lorenzo fuori le Mura]]
[[Category:Servants of God]]
[[Category:20th-century venerated Christians]]