, (''Democrazia Cristiana''), the
Christian Democratic party of
Italy , commonly called the
democristiani or "DC", dominated government for nearly half a century until its demise amid a welter of corruption allegations in 1992-94.
The party was in part a revival of the ( by the priest Don
Luigi Sturzo but declared illegal by the
Fascist regime in
1925 despite the presence of some members in
Benito Mussolini 's first government.
As Fascism's ruin approached in the latter years of
World War II , the Christian Democrats started organising post-Fascist Italy in certain competition but also for a time in coalition with the parties of the center and left. Breaking decisively with its former Communist coalition partners in May 1947, the party went on to win its greatest election victory in April 1948 with the support of the Church and the
United States .
From 1948 until the 1992, DC was the largest party in parliament, governing in successive coalitions with the smaller Liberal, Republican and Social Democratic parties and, after the
1963 , with the
Socialist Party . Basing its electoral majority largely on the catholic
Countryside , the party moved over time from its reformist origins to a more conservative role. A short-lived DC government led by
Fernando Tambroni (
1960 ), relying on parliamentary support from the
Italian Social Movement , Fascism's ideological heir, was disowned by the party following widespread opposition. Later in the sixties, the increased political influence of the left-wing factions, led by
Amintore Fanfani , moved the party to a center-left strategy based on the coalition with the Socialist Party.
Party life came to be characterised according to adherence to respective ''correnti'' or factions, each identified with individual leaders. Among the leaders who built DC, notable names include those of
Alcide De Gasperi ,
Antonio Segni ,
Amintore Fanfani ,
Giulio Andreotti ,
Aldo Moro and
Francesco Cossiga . Many DC members were attacked in the
1970 s, and in some cases murdered, by
Terrorists .
The abduction and murder of
Aldo Moro in
1978 removed one of the party's most highly-regarded leaders. Aldo Moro was the leader that was trying to replicate the inclusion of the socialist party with the
Communist One , a highly contested manoeuvre in conservative circles. This policy became known as ''parallel convergences'', or the
Historic Compromise . However, this policy was no longer considered after Moro's murder, as the
Red Brigades that kidnapped him claimed to be communist.
Many
Conspiracy Theories flourished about Moro's murder, and an account satisfactory for all parties involved may never be found. The main issues were:
- When Moro was abducted, the government immediately took a hardline position: the "State must not bend" on terrorist requests. This was a much different position than the one kept in the kidnapping of Ciro Cirillo , a minor political figure for which the government negotiated with terrorists. It has been suggested that some politicians, especially Giulio Andreotti , took the chance of getting rid of a political competitor by letting the terrorists execute him.
- It has been claimed that the hideout of the Red Brigades in Rome where Moro was kept prisoner contained material received from Italian and/or NATO secret services. Also, more than one member of the BR commando would have been an undercover agent of some government agency, but these claims are inherently difficult to substantiate.
- Moro wrote a series of letters during his time as a captive, at times very critical of Andreotti. These letters were kept secret for decades, and published only in the early nineties.
After the recovery of Moro's body in a road midway between the headquarters of the Christian Democracy and the Communist party in Rome (with a clear symbolism), the
Minister Of The Interior Francesco Cossiga resigned, gaining trust from the Communist party, which would later make him the first
President Of The Republic to be elected at the first ballot.
Having ruled the nation for over 40 years with no alternative other than the Communist party, DC members had ample opportunity to abuse their power, and undoubtedly some did.
In the
1960s an MP was indirectly involved in the so-called Montesi scandal (a girl killed after a
Drug party), and president of Italy
Giovanni Leone himself was forced to resign after a scandal involving
Lockheed aeroplanes.
The scandal regarding the secret society
P2 forced the premier
Arnaldo Forlani to resign, because he had delayed the publication of the member list (among which many high-ranking bureaucrats,
Enterpreneur s,
Army General s and also
Silvio Berlusconi ).
Minister of Public Health
Carlo Donat-Cattin was supposedly helped by the minister of Internal Affairs, Francesco Cossiga, to let his son
Marco escape from the
Police while wanted as a terrorist of
Prima Linea .
In
Corruption practices at the highest levels, causing many spectacular (and sometimes controversial) arrests and resignations. After two years of mounting scandal and divisions, the party disbanded in
1994 . Party treasurer
Severino Citaristi became the recordman of investigations, with an impressive 72 investigations on him.
Being the party's stronghold in the Italian south, it was likely that the
Mafia and dishonest politicians may try to collaborate. Of all government parties, DC was the most associated with Mafia in the popular opinion. Leaders as
Antonio Gava ,
Vito Ciancimino ,
Ciriaco De Mita and especially
Giulio Andreotti were perceived by many to belong to a gray zone between simple corruption and mafia business.
In the 80s, the 'Pentapartito' made up of Christian Democracy,
Italian Socialist Party ,
Italian Socialist Democratic Party ,
Italian Repubblican Party and
Italian Liberal Party was inaugured. It's main aim was to keep the
Italian Comunist Party away from power. However in 1983, after the disastrous result of 34,8% DC was forced to give away the presidency of the Council in favour of the powerful secretary of the Italian Socialist Party; Bettino Craxi. Bettino Craxi remained president for 4 years allowing only an esponent of the DC keeping the Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary. The 4 years absense from 'Palazzo Chigi' only made things worse; Bettino Craxi and the PSI became popular and was seen as the real reformist party. However in 1987 after receiving the same electoral result of 1983 it still had the right to return to Palazzo Chigi. The consequent 5 years saw 3 Prime Ministers and a detoriating economic policy which nearly bought italy to a financial disaster.
In the nineties, some of these politicians were acquitted, and their supporters claim this vindicates them. However, skeptics point out that many times these acquittals are based on the trial exceeding, sometimes narrowly, the
Statutory Time Limit , as it was the case for Andreotti. In some cases, though not in Andreotti's, this type of expiration was actively sought by employing delaying tactics.
In January 1994 the last DC secretary
Mino Martinazzoli decided to change the name of the party, which had suffered many defeats in 1993 local elections, into
Italian People's Party .
Pierferdinando Casini and
Clemente Mastella , representing the centre-right faction of the party (previously led by
Arnaldo Forlani , decided to launch a new party called
Christian Democratic Centre and to make an alliance with the new party of
Silvio Berlusconi ,
Forza Italia . A leftish faction founded the
Social Christians , which decided to enter in coalition with the
Democratic Party Of The Left .
In any case many Christian Democrats decided to join directly
Forza Italia , and in the years to come
Forza Italia would have become the party with more ex-members of DC in absolute terms.
The party's ideological sources are principally to be found in democratic and social Catholic doctrines of the 19th century (see
Christian Democracy ), developed in
France by
Buchez ,
Lamennais and
Le Play , and in
Italy by
Giuseppe Toniolo and
Romolo Murri ; in addition, the movement gained limited elements from liberal and social-democratic influences.
Of particular influence were the two
Papal Encyclical s, ''
Rerum Novarum '' (
1891 ) of
Pope Leo XIII , and ''
Quadragesimo Anno '' (
1931 ) of
Pope Pius XI , which were offered a basis for social and political doctrine; in
Economy , DC opposed the concept of
Cooperation to
Competition , and rejected
Marxism 's idea of
Conflict Among Social Classes .
The so-called "leftist wing" of DC, originating with Dossetti,
Giorgio La Pira , and Lazzati (represented by the magazine ''Cronache Sociali''), advocated dialogue with leftist parties and gave birth to the concept of center-left, proposing governments with minority socialist participation.
