DIVERGENT ISSUES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 66, Issue 197, 3 June 1946, Page 3

DIVERGENT ISSUES

ELECTIONS IN ITALY AND FRANCE DEMONSTRATION AGAINST UMBERTO (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright.) (Rec. 0.30 a.m.) LONDON, June 2. An angry mob refused to allow King Umberto to leave Milan Cathedral yesterday, reports Reuter’s Milan correspondent. The mob surged to the cathedral as King Umberto appeared on the steps and swept aside the police cordon, shouting: “Down with the Monarchy!” King Umberto withdrew to the cathedral arid returned to the Palace by an underground passage. He left soon afterwards for his electioneering visit to Venice. King Umberto will proceed to Villa •Savoia, his private residence on the outskirts of Rome, where he will await the result of the referendum, says Reuter’s Rome correspondent. If the referendum goes against him he will not return to the palace. In an election eve manifesto to the Italian people, King Umberto declared that he would accept the popular decision in tire plebiscite on the Monarchy. He appealed to faithful supporters of the Monarchy to respect without reservation the wishes of the majority. If the people voted for the Monarchy he would call for an additional vote on the Monarchy in the Constituent Assembly when it ■ resumed its duties.

King Umberto, on his ‘•'electioneering’’ tour in North Italy, told the Milanese in a newspaper message “that office duties and a politictl directive dictated by the Allied _ Supreme Command prevented his joining the struggle against the Germans during the occupation as he wished to do. Two bombs, alleged to have been placed by Neo-Fascists, exploded at Bologna.' The first exploded near the public works office, close to which the following placard was found: “Victory will be ours whoever wins the referendum.’’ It was signed on behalf of Mussolini action squads. The second bomb exploded an hour later in another part of the city. There were no casualties.

Divergent Issues

Italian and Flench electors will poll on Sunday in what “The Times’’ points out has become the pattern of political democracy throughout Europe. Communists, _ Socialists, and Progressive Catholics are opposing the heirs to the old constitutional traditions, although the pattern is the same.

The issues in the two countries are widely divergent. France is already a Republic. Italy has yet to choose. The Rome correspondent of the “Daily Mail” states that it is. predicted that a 60 per cent, majority will vote against King Umberto. The strongest of the, three main parties is Signor Alcide de Gasperi’s Christian Democrat Party, which favours sharing estates between the peasants and profit-sharing industry supporting the Church. Signor Pietro Nenni’s Socialists and Signor Palmiro Torgliati’s Communists have almost the same policies. Both want to break up the estates, hut for the benefit of the State, not for individuals. The Paris correspondent of the “Daily Mail” reports that the French parties are less interested in the .details of policy than the political power so far shared between the three parties. The Communists are expected to lose a few seats and the Socilists to gain a few. The Catholic Left (the M.R.P) may lose more because the electors this, time are offered the Republican Liberals’ Party, the Rightists who were previously an uncohesive fifth party. M.' Edouard Herriot’s radical alliance may affect the strength of the main Leftist parties.

Neo-Fascists fired on the printing works of the Socialist paper “Avanti” and then threw in two grenades, wounding five compositors, says Reuter’s Milan correspondent. Fire broke out, hut was extinguished, and work on the paper was resumed.

, HEAVY EARLY VOTE WOMEN GO TO THE POLLS (Rec. 11.30 a.m.) LONDON, June 2. A heavy early vote is reported today in the first Italian General Election for 20 years, say Rome correspondents. Italy’s 29,000,000 electors who, for the first time, include jwomen, are voting for a Constituent Assembly of 573 members, which will draw up a new democratic constitution. They similtaneously are voting on the referendum. issue, Monarchy or Republic.

Police patrolled the streets' of Rome in heavy tanks and trucks, but no incidents were reported. Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. when thefe were big queues outside many stations Voters at some stations at S a.m. were reckoning that the timelag between joining a queue and voting would be about five hours, and some returned home hoping to find queues reduced tonight or early to morrow when voting will be allowed to continue at all large places. Women in queues appeared to be about equal in numbers to men.

The Ministry of the Interior said that results of the elections will not be known before June 7.