[Since the regional. elections in June and the…]

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Since the regional. elections in June and the gains they brought to the Italian Communist Party (PCI) resulting from the leftward movement of the working class, the Italian ruling class has been in continuous political crisis.

The need of the ruling class has been at all costs to prevent the entry of the Stalinists into the government, something that the United States has made it quite plain would be unacceptable.

After the June elections the ruling Christian Democrats made various manoeuvres to try to preserve their bloc with the Socialist Party.

They tried removing Fanfani as Party leader but only to replace him with the little known Zaccagnini who does not have wide support in the Party.

Last week, as if to underline the state of the crisis and the political problems facing the ruling class, President Leone broke the tradition of political neutrality of the presidency and sent a "state of the nation" message to parliament.

Predictably, he called for: a halt to the flight of capital from the country; "law and order" to be re-established through harsher sentences for lawbreakers. Leone blamed the economic crisis on strikes and stoppages and called for tough laws to restrict the right to strike.

At the same time, the Socialist Party, sensing the weakness of the Christian Democrats and seeking to adapt to the leftward movement of the working • class, has announced its intention of withdrawing from the coalition at the end of the present parliament.

In adopting this strategy, which amounts simply to that of the Popular Front, the Socialist Party is attempting to win support away from both the Christian Democrats zai ise Stalimists. Their call is to -Eate su pat! the reference NI: bs Cards social DREI SLAN DETERS who want to place themsleves on the Left" - precisely the aim of the Italian Communist Party.

Yet by breaking with the coalition, even while offering absolutely no solution to the economic crisis from the point of view of the working class, the Socialists were able to put on a left face in contrast to the grovelling of the Indeed at a time of strong resistance by all sections of workers to growing unemployment and inflation, the PCI remains committed to its policy of 'historic compromise' with Christian Demoria (the Italian CBI) and the Stalinist leadership of the CGIL (the trade union federation) remains firm.

RESTRAINT The Stalinists have gone as far as to sell out in advance the autumn wage negotiations, calling for wage restraint in order to "cure unemployment". At all costs the Stalinists are out to avoid another "hot autumn" of class struggle -though already the metal workers union has taken a lead in striking against unemployment. But the CP's role is exposed more and more openly with each betrayal.

In an interview with the Italian weekly Espresso a leading Socialist Party spokesman was able quite accurately to sum up the role of the Stalinists: "The historical compromise pleases us less and less. It is a political act to conceal the crisis and to conserve intact the elements which have provoked it"

At the same time the Socialist Party is able unfavourably to contrast the Stalinist party to its own supposed "clarity" in formulating "strategy" . This, the SP spokesman stressed 66 ... the PCI is unable to do because of its excessive concentration on tactics and the ambiguity in the formulation of the historic compromise."

While the hard line of Leone's presidential speech has strengthen ed the employers' hard line. Italian Leone workers have developed the tactic of "autoreduction" of bus fares and telephone charges (among several items).

OCCUPATIONS

The struggle against rising tele phone charges at the moment centres on Rome where refusal to pay the full telephone bill was organised through local trade union committees. This was followed by mass occupation of the telephone exchanges, to prevent the authorities cutting off the phones for the last few weeks.

In Milan mass squatting movements reflect growing working class resentment ot the housing crisis and rising rents.

These struggles show the tremendous combativity and capacity to develop new areas of struggle by the Italian workers.

Politically, however,. these struggles can easily be defeated if there is no fight for leadership against the Stalinists - who at the local level often adapt to them - in order to sell out at a later stage.

The building of a Trotskyist party to fight on principle against the treacher! of Popular Frontism and 'histori: compromis" is vital 20# fo Italian morkers.

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