Italian-Austrian Desk files, lot 58 D 243, “103 NSC 1954”
No. 779
William E. Knight of the Office of
Western European Affairs to the Political Officer in Italy
(Williamson)1
official–informal
Dear Francis: I want to take the advantage of a relatively quiet moment to reply at last to your letter of March 152 regarding the draft NSC paper. I was on leave from March 17–129 but aside from that, as I hope you have guessed, your letter arrived just too late to have anything done about it. The Council itself met on the draft on March 25 and sent the paper back for revision of a few specific points. It eventually gave its final approval on April 13.3 I hope that some of your points and Henry Tasca’s (for example, leaving the way open to aid in the future) were met at least in part in the final draft. I think the redraft of the economic and social section was excellent and am sorry the time element frustrated its conclusion. [Page 1686] At any rate the Staff Study is of somewhat less significance than the section on courses of action, as you know.
I agree with you that we should have brought out the point about the electoral legislation, but I don’t quite see how, as things developed, the new law would have changed the situation radically even if the center had won 51% in the Chamber. Since the Senate would not have been affected I have always thought that calling the Senatorial elections was one of De Gasperi’s big mistakes. It completely eliminated the possibility of accomplishing anything spectacular through the new law. Seemed to me it would have been more logical to carry through in the Chamber, get an overwhelming majority there, and then extend the law in some form to the Senate in time for the elections there.
. . . . . . .
With all best wishes and my regards to everyone.
Sincerely,
- Cleared with Freund.↩
- Document 771.↩
- See Documents 773 and 775.↩