The Worst Way

In his bestseller, The Italians, a penetrating study of his own people, Author Luigi Barzini noted his countrymen's talent for making a mess of things but doing it with great flair. Last week, as a Liberal (right-wing) Deputy in the National Assembly, Barzini participated in an Italian reversal of form. After 13 days and 20 frustrating ballots in which no one gained a majority, the Assembly finally elected Social Democrat Giuseppe Saragat, 66, President of Italy. "They picked the best man," said Barzini whimsically, "but in the worst possible way."

Unroofed Hall. The Christian Democratic Party was both the villain and the victim of the messy election. Enabled to rule Italy only by joining in coalition with Pietro Nenni's Socialists, the Christian Democrats were determined to elect one of their own party President. Antonio Segni, who had resigned in December because of ill health, had shown that the office was not merely ornamental but could also be a position of influence and, on occasion, of real power.

But to elect one of their own, the Christian Democrats had to unite behind a single candidate. A party caucus gave the nod to Lawyer Giovanni Leone, but many Christian Democratic Deputies refused to be bound by the decision. Indeed, ex-Premier Amintore Fanfani finally captured more than 100 of the 399 Christian Democratic votes available but withdrew after the eleventh ballot because of the combined pressure of the Vatican and his party chiefs. Fanfani was feared because he is shrewd, inventive (he created the "opening to the left" regime that still rules Italy) and unpredictable.

Even with Fanfani out, the Christian Democrats still could not decide on a single candidate. As the balloting droned on into Italy's longest electoral deadlock, impatient Italians recalled the 13th century papal conclave at Viterbo that lasted for 31 years without naming a new Pope. In that long-ago time, the citizens of Viterbo finally locked the cardinals inside a palace, and when that failed, they tore off the roof to let in rain and cold. That did it, and the cardinals elected Gregory X.

Posthumous Appeal. Italian newspapers were suggesting that the strategy of Viterbo might be the only way out. Some Deputies showed their disgust by casting ballots for Movie Star Sophia Loren and an 88-year-old actress named Emma Gramatica. One man dropped his laundry list in the ballot box, another a letter from his wife, a third a job request from a constituent. One Deputy made a posthumous appeal to the late great Christian Democratic Premier Alcide de Gasperi by writing on his ballot: "De Gasperi, save Italy!"

On Christmas Day, the Christian Democratic Party finally faced the fact that it was unable to elect one of its members President. Nor could the party be brought around to backing its Socialist coalition partner, Pietro Nenni. What was obviously needed was a man of the left who was palatable to men of the center and the moderate right. Such a man was Giuseppe Saragat, leader of the Social Democrats, who thought so little of his chances that he had withdrawn his candidacy as early as the seventh ballot. Socialist Pietro Nenni saw the way clear to a reconciliation with Saragat by backing him for the presidency; he saw, too, a chance to bring back into the Socialist fold those Social Democrats who had followed Saragat out of the party.

Firm Foe. Yet even at this critical moment, many Christian Democratic Deputies refused to follow party orders and vote for Saragat. This opened the door to the Communists, who swung their votes behind Saragat on the 21st ballot. The Reds were well aware that Saragat is a firm foe of Communism and a friend of the West. It was enough for them to have denied the presidency to the Christian Democrats and to have given it to a Socialist.

An economist from industrial Turin in northern Italy, Saragat belonged to the Socialist party directorate as early as 1925. He spent the Fascist years in exile in Austria and France, returning to Italy in 1943 and joining the first anti-Fascist government. Because he bitterly opposed the "unity of action" pact with the Communists, Saragat broke with the Socialists to form his own party. In his long career, Saragat has ably filled posts ranging from Ambassador to France to Foreign Minister.

Most Italians agree with Barzini that the best man won. Honest and tenacious, Saragat is both a poet and a visionary who dreams of a United Europe. But his more immediate concern will be the uniting of Italy itself. The presidential election showed once again the creaky nature of the nation's political system, with its multiplicity of parties. It also produces new strains in Premier Aldo Moro's ruling center-left coalition and among the Christian Democrats, who after 18 1/2 years of ruling Italy, have become more a collection of factions than a coherent political party. True, Italy managed to elect a President without tearing apart the government and forcing new national elections. But it is not likely that the shaky ruling coalition can face many more such crises without going under.

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