Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Frequently used abbreviations
- 1 Introduction and overview
- 2 Wartime diplomacy
- 3 Liberation and transition
- 4 The advent of De Gasperi
- 5 Clayton at bay
- 6 Corbino, UNRRA, and the crisis of the liberal line
- 7 The emergency response
- 8 The “whirlwind of disintegration”
- 9 The dilemmas of deflation
- 10 Conclusion: the Marshall Plan and after
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
4 - The advent of De Gasperi
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Frequently used abbreviations
- 1 Introduction and overview
- 2 Wartime diplomacy
- 3 Liberation and transition
- 4 The advent of De Gasperi
- 5 Clayton at bay
- 6 Corbino, UNRRA, and the crisis of the liberal line
- 7 The emergency response
- 8 The “whirlwind of disintegration”
- 9 The dilemmas of deflation
- 10 Conclusion: the Marshall Plan and after
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The brief period from December 1945 to March 1946 witnessed a series of initiatives that together produced a new phase in early postwar Italian–American relations and marked the beginning of the collaboration between Alcide De Gasperi and the United States. At its moment of origin, the relationship owed more to expediency and mutual dependence than to deeply shared convictions or mutual trust. American officials were struck by the cabinet's novel competence in dealing with financial, commercial, and political problems. The Italian government also addressed itself to other issues of interest to the United States, including the fate of the Fascist industrial sector and pending investment projects of major U.S. companies. De Gasperi himself was better equipped than his predecessor to manage the interparty conflicts that had bedeviled the previous coalition.
With the help of the Rome embassy, the State Department established closer relations with local Italian forces. The period also saw the birth of a major UNRRA aid program, considered by some the last best hope for U.S.-inspired reformism. During the first months of 1946, conflicts within the American government faded, albeit briefly, in the new atmosphere of cautious optimism. Parri's demise also brought a release of political tensions, and the parties turned their attention to the upcoming local and national elections. They also continued to prefer maneuver and compromise to clear choices of economic policy. This internal stalemate would continue for months.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- America and the Reconstruction of Italy, 1945–1948 , pp. 58 - 75Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1986