In the winter of 1947-48, the Communists in Italy were confident of victory in the April general elections. They were much better organized and financed than the other political parties. The polls indicated that they would win.
Then an amazing thing happened. An Italian-American barber living on Long Island became concerned. He persuaded his relatives and friends to write to their friends in Italy urging them to work and vote against the Communists. Next he persuaded the big Italian-American societies and other organizations to have their members do likewise.
It was estimated that five million American letters poured into Italy during the month before the election. Thanks to those letters, on April 18-19, 1948, the Christian Democrats decisively defeated the Communist Popular Front party.
Now 28 years later, Italy faces a similar crisis. The polls indicate that the Communist Party may win the big election on June 20 and 21. Fortunately, one American citizen has made it his personal mission to help the Italian anti-Communists. He is former Texas Governor John B. Connally, Jr. He will always be remembered for being shot by one of the bullets aimed at President John Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963.
Connally has formed the Citizens Alliance for Mediterranean Freedom. He is urging the 25 million Italian-Americans to write and persuade their Italian relatives and friends to vote against the Communists in the June election.
It is perhaps fortunate that Governor Connally is not Italian, not Roman Catholic, apparently has no relatives in Italy, and has no official position in the United States Government. His advice to the Italian people cannot be attacked as biased by nationality or religion or politics.
If Italy votes in a Communist government, then the Italian Communists would participate in NATO land, sea, and air plans and maneuvers for the defense of Europe from Communist invasion. There is no provision in NATO’s charter to freeze out a member from sensitive deliberations. Communist control of Italy would be a severe blow to the security and independence of the entire Western world.
In a recent address given at the Center for Strategic and International Studies at Georgetown University, former Ambassador to Italy Clare Boothe Luce focused clearly in the interrelationship between Italy, the Soviet Union, and U. S. foreign policy. ”There would be no Italian Communist problem,” she said, “if there were no Soviet Union determined to achieve hegemony over the Middle East and the oil that is the lifeblood of Europe’s economy, determined to make the Mediterranean a Russian lake, determined to collapse NATO. . . . There would be no Italian Communist problem if the Italian people did not feel that the United States has no policy today that promises them any hope that they will not, in the end, be relentlessly drawn into the orbit of Moscow.”
John Connally is to be praised for devoting his energies and funds to the cause of saving Italy from Communist control.
