Bologna, city of example

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33676, 28 October 1974, Page 5

Bologna, city of example

f.V.Z. Press Assn —Copyright) BOLOGNA, i The Communists have; chosen Bologna, rhe Italian city of gourmets,; as their most publicised' experiment in makingCommunism palatable to i Italians, who are looking closer at it as the powerful Communist Party, the largest in the West, moves closer to a share of power in Rome. Bologna has had a CotnI munist-controlled city government for 30 years, and it, has treated the half-million ; ■Bolognese to a menu of; home-made socialism which | has drawn popular, and I steady, support. Free bus I ride.s during rush-hours, nursery schools, and special; ■ programmes and pensions; for the aged have been; among its hand-outs. Industrialists who com-

plain that they receive more interference than help from the city in running their businesses, grudgingly admit that, overall, the Communists have proved themselves good and honest administrators. Now the Communist Party, seeking participation in the national Government, has been proudly showing off Bologna as a .sample of the efficiency it says it can provide in Rome. The thirty-sixth Italian Government in 30 years collapsed on October 3, and the Communists are taking full advantage of the continuing political crisis. With its mixture of ancient palaces and churches, and the rich farmland around it, Bologna is the largest city under Communist rule in Western Europe: to some Bolognese, their city is a Socialist republic grafted on the heart of the Western world. Bologna is clean, and well preserved. Efficient planning

: and regulations have made ! for fluid traffic, but have ' left old colonnade-lined I streets untouched and quiet. [Communists are even ,run- [ ning some of the best res- ■ taurant.3, an important asset [in a city where culture goes ’hand in hand with gastronomy. Bologna’s Communist’ [ authorities have won a ;SNZII.4m award from the United Nations Educational, i Scientific, and Cultural Orjganisation for their project !to restore old houses and [return them to the people [ who, traditionally, have in- [ habited the historic centre with their families and trades. The city has developed ’ Italy's bast system of nurIsery schools and day-care [centres. Of 17,300 children i between the ages of three [and six, all but 4000 attend ! municipal schools at charges i varying between SNZ6 and [SNZIO a month for lunch ■and two snacks daily. I “This is better than any, other city in Western Eur-[ ope.” the Mayor (Dr Renato [ Zangheri) says. “Our two! main objects are the care of i the very young and the -aged, — we want to protect the, weakest.” In a system unmatched in: any other Italian city, I Bologna provides a monthly [ bonus for retired people ini the low-pension bracket. It also pays the rent for the elderly who live in rented: apartments, and sends hundreds of them on free holi-’ da vs.

The medical care system | provides free doctors and household help for pensioners and. soon, aged Bolognese will receive a card for [free rides on all city trans-[ I port. , J A key feature of the ol the city’s transport system: [is the free bus rides for everyone during rush-hours. | Students ride free for one hour after classes end. “The Communists are far J [from being fools,” says Mr [Mario Giosue, the owner of | a factory manufacturing [women’s shoes. Never- [ [theless, Bologna is an over-1 rated sample of the kind of administration the Communist Party wants to extend toi the whole nation. The Mayors of Bolognaj have all been Communists since 1945: the Communists! nave never managed better: [than 45 per cent of the vote.’ but they have kept their’ ’hold on the city through an alliance with the Marxistline Socialist Party. The’ Communists won 27 per [cent of the votes at the: polls in the 1972 Parlia-[ mentary elections — 11 per ’cent less than the dominant [Christian Democrats. Dr Zangheri, aged 49. a professor of economic theo-i ry at Bologna University, [ has run the city since 1970., and is the third post-war mayoi.

The city’s expenses, at the equivalent of $NZ46.360m exceed revenue in the 1974 Budget, but Dr Zangheri points out that the State centralised taxation two years ago, and froze grants to cities at 1973 levels — despite rampant inflation which increased costs by at least 21 per cent in one year.

No Italian city the size of I j Bologna is without a deficit.; ; Indeed, that of Palermo, the j Sicilian capital comparable in size, is five times as large. The Communists in Bologna claim that they are running the most democratic system of any large Italian city, and have, to a large extent, decentralised authority to Bologna’s 18 districts. Each has a council, headed by an assistant to the’ Mayor, and various commis- ] sioners handling traffic, ] schools, construction, and: medical care. The city originally ■ planned expropriation to carry out a plan to preserve old houses in downtown Bologna, but strong opposition in the district councils led them to grant homeowners an alternative bei tween expropriation with ipayment or credit facilities! l ifor modernisation on city-1, tated lines.

A network of co-oper-atives ranging from agriculture to taxis seek to cater to the needs of the Bolognese, and there are also Commun-’ ist-controlled co-operative I restaurants, tourist agencies.' department stores, and even a co-operative insurance' company. The Bolognese are spared’ ■strikes, a national plague in :Italy. In one businessman’s; [ summary, the reasoning: ;goes: co-operatives do not ’Work for capitalist profit, so .there is no reason to strike. Labour bargaining tends' [to be tougher than elsewhere because the city authorities show support for any demand, or complaint, from workers. Bologna spends more than a quarter of its budget on [schools — more than any [other Italian city. Ronfe [spends only 8 per cent. [“Must one discuss Vietnam in school, or not? Must one discuss life in the factories?” asks Dr Zangheri. Some parents say yes, others say no. Some teachers can do it.’ others cannot. But they are matters to be discussed." Asked how he felt about I Communist participation in the Central Government in Rome, Mr Franco Vono, [ president of the Bologna’ Industrialists’ Association,: gave this terse reply: “For God’s sake, this would be: our ruin: You can see it; here in Bologna, where wel live in constant danger.’’