116. Editorial Note
On August 25, Pietro Nenni and Giuseppe Saragat met to discuss the possibility of Socialist reunification. In 1947 the Italian Socialist Party had split into two segments, largely over the question of collaboration with the Communists. The PSI, led by Nenni, remained on the left; the PSDI, led by Saragat, joined the ruling government coalition. In telegram 857 from Rome, August 27, Luce reported press accounts of the meeting, which quoted Saragat as stating that there was some identity of views between the two leaders and that Nenni had agreed to Saragat’s conditions that Italian foreign policy be conducted in harmony with the West and that a united Socialist Party would never join in a government with the Communists. (Department of State, Central Files, 765.00/8–2756) In telegram 878 from Rome, August 28, Luce reported that Carlo Russo, Secretary of the Council of Ministers, had confirmed press reports of the meeting, although he expressed doubt concerning Nenni’s agreement with Saragat’s conditions. Russo stated that Saragat had acted to maintain the unity of his party and to put the onus for failure of unification on Nenni. Nenni, Russo believed, sought unification because of the recent election returns which indicated that the PSI lost strength when teamed with the Communists. (Ibid., 765.00/8–2856) In a memorandum to Secretary Dulles on September 25, Elbrick stated that the U.S. attitude toward Socialist unification revolved around the objective of the existence of an anti-Communist Italian Socialist Party committed to the exclusion of Communists from the government and the maintenance of a Saragat-style foreign policy. (Ibid., S/P–NSC Files: Lot 62 D 1, NSC 5411, 5411/2)