ITALY: COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER, BERLINGUER, ADDRESSES RALLY OF SIX THOUSAND AND CALLS FOR EMERGENCY GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL UNITY.

Record ID: 215034

  • Title: ITALY: COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER, BERLINGUER, ADDRESSES RALLY OF SIX THOUSAND AND CALLS FOR EMERGENCY GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL UNITY.
  • Date: 17th May 1976
  • Summary: 1. GV Street outside hall where rally was held 0.05 2. GV supporters and delegates gathering on steps outside hall 0.10 3. SV Berlinguer at rostrum applauding and receiving applause of crowd (2 shots) 0.19 4. GV ZOOM INTO SV Berlinguer making speech 0.53 5. GV Audience listening (2 shots) 1.09 6. SV Berlinguer speaking PAN TO cheer
  • Embargoed: 1st June 1976 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: ROME, ITALY
  • Country: Italy
  • Reuters ID: LVA1RIB2CRULLQIX69TSAD5ME555
  • Story Text: A huge audience of six thousand people attended a Communist Party rally in Rome's Congress Hall on Sunday (16 May), and heard the Italian Communist Secretary-General, Enrico Berlinguer, call for formation of an emergency government of national unity to rule Italy after the general elections on 20 June. He said that any future government should include the Communist Party.

    The rally marked the start of the Party's bid for power in the campaign leading up to next month's elections.

    The Communists' proposal for an emergency government has already been rejected by the conservative Christian Democrats, who have dominated Italian politics for the past twenty years. They have described the Communists' proposal as "a cover-up for an unscrupulous bid for power".

    Signor Berlinguer, who is 54, said that his party's proposal for a National Unity government was not a "Machiavellian trick" but a serious offer. he said the Christian Democrats were afraid of change and afraid of unity because they would then lose their position of predominance.

    The Communist leader said that Italy was ripe for a completely different type of government comprising all democratic forces.

    "We need a government of unity, a government of alliance and solidarity between all democratic and popular forces, and in order to be really united and innovative, a government cannot do without the Communist Party" he said.

    The Communist Party has attracted a number of Catholic and non-Catholic artists, intellectuals and writers to support its election campaign, with many of them standing as independent candidates but supporting the Communist programme.

    Such a candidate will be Signor Altiero Spinelli, the European Common Market Commissioner for Industrial and Technological Policy. He announced on Sunday (16 May) that he would stand as an independent candidate supporting the Communists. He said he was convinced that its participation in the next government was necessary for a "democratic renaissance of Italy".

    SYNOPSIS: In the impressive Congress Hall in Rome on Sunday, the Italian Communist Party held a rally marking the start of the Party's bid for power in the campaign leading up to next month's general elections. The Party's Secretary-General, Enrico Berlinguer, addressed the packed audience of supporters.

    More than six thousand people attended, and they heard Signor Berlinguer call for the formation of a national government of national unity to rule Italy after the election. He said any future government should include the Communists.

    The Communists' proposal for a government of national unity has already been rejected by the right-wing Christian Democrats, who have dominated Italian politics for the past twenty years.

    The have described the proposal as a cover-up for an unscrupulous bid for power. Signor Berlinguer has denied this and has emphasised it is a serious offer. He told the audience on Sunday that Italy was ripe for a completely different type of government comprising all democratic forces.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register