80. Editorial Note
Mario Scelba resigned his position as Premier on June 22, after unsuccessful attempts to reconstruct his cabinet. On June 26, President Giovanni Gronchi asked Antonio Segni (Christian Democrat) to explore the possibility of forming a new government. On July 5, Segni informed Gronchi that he could form a government and was then designated Premier. In despatch 37, July 8, the Embassy in Rome analyzed the government crisis and concluded that the formula of the Segni government was based on the same coalition (Christian Democrats, Liberals, and Social Democrats, with Republican parliamentary support) as that of Scelba. The despatch stated that the crisis had arisen because of Gronchi’s attempts to extend his powers rather than from any ideological concerns. (Department of State, Central Files, 765.00/7–855) in a memorandum to Deputy Assistant Secretary Elbrick, July 11, Richard Freund concluded that in foreign affairs Segni would continue Scelba’s policies of collaboration with the United States and with the Atlantic Alliance, while undertaking some domestic reforms. Freund doubted that Segni would take as decisive a stand as Scelba on the anti-Communist issue. (Ibid., 765.00/7–1155)