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A Party for the Mezzogiorno: The Christian Democratic Party, Agrarian Reform and the Government of Italy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 September 2010

ROSARIO FORLENZA
ROSARIO FORLENZA*
Affiliation:
James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institution, Department of Politics, Princeton University, 83 Prospect Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08540, United States; [email protected].
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Abstract

In the 1950s the Christian Democratic party turned its attention to agrarian reform projects and development funding for southern Italy. Its social and economic objectives were the destruction of latifundia, the creation of a class of small landowners, industrial and commercial development and the reduction of territorial inequalities. The ultimate goal, however, was political: to gain loyalty, allegiance and electoral consensus. To manage the economy and direct change, the party had to strengthen the organisation, form a ruling class, lay down territorial roots and widen the scope of its propaganda beyond anti-communism. Elections became the testing ground for the party's new reform strategies.

Un parti pour le mezzogiorno. le parti chrétien-démocrate, la réforme agraire et le gouvernement de l'italie

Dans les années 1950, le parti chrétien-démocrate portait son attention sur des projets de réforme agraire et le financement du développement pour l'Italie du Sud. Ses objectifs sociaux et économiques étaient la destruction des latifundia, la création d'une classe de petits propriétaires fonciers, le développement industriel et commercial, et la réduction des inégalités territoriales. Le but ultime, toutefois, était d'ordre politique: pour gagner la loyauté, la fidélité et le consensus électoral. Pour gérer l'économie et le changement direct, le parti devait renforcer l'organisation, former une classe dirigeante, créer des racines territoriales et élargir la thématique de sa propagande au-delà de l'anticommunisme. Les élections devenaient le terrain d'essai pour les nouvelles stratégies de réforme du parti.

Eine partei für den mezzogiorno. die christlich-demokratische partei, die agrarreform und die regierung italiens

In den 1950er Jahren wandte die Christlich Demokratische Partei Italiens ihre Aufmerksamkeit Projekten zur Agrarreform und zur Entwicklungsfinanzierung für Süditalien zu. Ihre sozialen und wirtschaftlichen Ziele waren die Zerschlagung des Groβgrundbesitzes in den Latifundien, die Schaffung einer Klasse von kleinen Grundbesitzern, die industrielle und kommerzielle Entwicklung, sowie die Verringerung territorialer Ungleichheiten. Ihr Ziel war jedoch letztlich politisch, nämlich Loyalität, Treue und einen Wahlkonsens in der Region zu erlangen. Um die Wirtschaft und die direkte Umstellung zu verwalten, musste die Partei die Organisation verstärken, eine Führungsschicht ausbilden, territoriale Wurzel ausbreiten und den Themenbereich ihrer Propaganda über den Anti-Kommunismus hinaus erweitern. Die Wahlen wurden zum Testgelände für die neuen Reformstrategien der Partei.

Type
Articles
Information
Contemporary European History , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , November 2010 , pp. 331 - 349
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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