Communists gain vital posts

Press, 28 July 1976, Page 9

Communists gain vital posts

NZPA-Reuter Rome For the first time in the history of the Italian Republic, the Communist Party has won chairmanships of committees in Parliament, the New York Times News Service reports. The decision reflected the growing strength of the party in the mechanism of government as a result of its gains ir the elections last month. The party will remain outside the next Cabinet, but it will clearly have more influence than before on the course of important legislation. The committee posts fori ♦he Communists would not! block expected aid for Italy from international lenders.'

According to Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of West Germany, his country’, the United States, Britain, and France would bar financial aid only if the Communists moved into the Italian Cabinet itself.' In many ways, the com-' mittee chairmen in the Italian! Chamber of Deputies are as important in the legislative) process as chairmen of Con-i gressional committees ini Washington. They can play major roles in determining the fate and shape of legislation, deciding when to call committee meetings, for example, and generally representing a force that any’ Government must consider. Under an agreement'

- reached by the leaders of - political parties in the 630- ; seat Chamber, the Commun--1 ists will be chairmen of comI mittees: finance and trea- > sury, public works, constitu- • tional affairs, and transport. The Communists previously [won the Presidency, or speaqkership, of the Chamber of . Deputies itself, selecting Mr !{ Pietro Ingrao, a 61-year-old • 'member of the party’s exilecutive committee. Of the committees, finance ; and treasury is the most iml portant. i The Communists would ■ hope to use their new power • within the group as a way . of intervening more in Gov- ■ emment spending plans and in providing more scrutiny of .! the host of State-owned com-

panies now run by the Christian Democrats. The Communists are also bidding for chairmanships in the 315-member Senate. The political parties are expected to yield to Communist pressures there as well, although the Christian Democrats retained the Presidency of the Senate. All the recent trends have underscored a rise of Communist power in Government, and have been particularly worrying American officials. They feel, however, that there is little the Christian Democrats can do to prevent the increase in legislative power of the Communists, who gained 49 seats in the Chamber of Deputies alone in the voting on June 20.