DEEPENS COURSE TOWARD "AUTONOMY"
By Sirio Di Giuliomaria
ROME - = The downfall. of Khrushchev. has had .the effect of accelerating the "autonomous" course decided on by the leadership of the Italian Communist party [pcr] after the publication of Tog-~ liatti's "testament." The assumption that the death of the late PCI leader had given impetus to the long-visible tendency has been confirmed by the latest developments. in the Italian organization, .
It is widely held that Togliatti himself would have blocked publication of the document he wrote. He intended it as a memorandum for internal use and it was. never his habib to publish any confidential documents such as this immediately after being written. This view is based on the idea that Togliatti played. the roll-of a. "moderator," especially in slowing down the majority of the Political Bureau -~- above all, the right wing -- from putting the party on record against certain aspects of Khrushchev's policies,
Togliatti's disappearance from the scene changed this, pro-
viding an opening for the PCI leadership to attack Khrushchev while at the same time shielding themselves behind Togliatti's document.
In line with this interpretation is the fact that while Togliatti did not give prominent place in his "testament" to criticism of the political regime in the USSR, nor ever voice such opinions . publicly, the criticisms levelled by the PCI at present concern the "limits" of Soviet democracy.
At the October 13-14 session of the Central Committee, the reporter, Enrico Berlinguer, a member of the Secretariat, advanced the ideas in Togliatti's "testament, " but placed emphasis on the need for party "autonomy." "Unity: in the differences} unity in autonomy,” was the central slogan of the session, . '. Berlinguer then headed the delegation that was sent to Moscow to seek an explanation for Khrushchev's ouster. At the airport on his return November 3 when he was interviewed by the press, he indicated a critical attitude toward the new Soviet regime. His. first statement was as follows:
"as regards the forms and means of development of the exercise of democracy and political debate in a socialist society, it was already clear from some of our previous assessments and from Togliatti's memorandum that in various ways our positions do not coincide with those of the Soviet comrades. The discussions we had ‘in Moscow confirmed the existence of these differences."
His curt answers to questions fired at him by reporters likewise indicated his critical attitude. Here is a typical exchange:
"Was Suslov! s report read to you?"
"wo.”
"Did you see the minutes of the Central Committee?"
"No," .
"Did you ask for them?"
"No . "t
"Why?"
"We were not interested in getting trestricted! information. We. did not go to Moscow for that. We were only interested in stressing; among other things, the need to provide information for world public opinion. We did not want "secret! information." 7 Berlinguer did not claim that his delegation had met with success, as can be judged from the following:
"will Suslov's report be published?"
"We do not know," .
Other items are also indicative of the deepening of the PCI's autonomous course, For instance, the Moscow correspondent of. = L'Unita, the official party newspaper, neither attempts to justify. anything or to cover up anything that might be embarrassing to the: Soviet leadership, His articles, in fact, indicate irritation over a Communist correspondent being kept in the dark and placed on the same level as bourgeois correspondents. Thus L'Unita, in offering . explanations for the downfall of Khrushchev, openly used the same . sources as the bourgeois ‘papers —— hypothesis, deduction, bits of... information, etc. 4 : pos
- -: While the official PCI attitude is one of sharper criticism, the: debate inside the party has gone further. In Rome, a discussion attended by some two hundred members of the Communist party, was opened to the public. The reporter (the secretary of Rome province ) and particularly those who took the floor were very severe in their eriticisms of Soviet "democracy."
Ae Trotskyist, - who took the floor. as a member of. the Fourth International, was even applauded by the audience. The reporter re sponded on .@ pokieion. level and in. a comradely tone..
At the moment, ‘especially in certain cities, the most search-. ing oritictams can be made of the situation in the Soviet Union.
What does the CPI leadership hope. to gain politically ‘by this critical course? In his report to the October 13-14 session of the Central Committee, Berlinguer argued that PCI autonomy meant among other things "a condition for guaranteeing the national and patriotic character of our party and of the other Communist parties." —
In his airport press: interview on returning from Moscow, Berlinguer declared: ‘The appreciation of the positive and negative experiences made in the socialist countries, along with the analysis of our national reality and of its traditions and peculiarities, has been an essential element in elaborating and struggling for our own road to socialism, which makes allowance not only for the defense but also for the full development of all the values of democracy."
Taking the “peaceful road to socialism" as the axis of their political line; i.e., the perspective of winning the vote of the majority of the population, including the middle class, the PCI is ‘aware that if it grants blind support to all the political blunders of the Soviet leadership, it cannot forge the "“alliances!' that.go .__ with such a policy. Hence the critical attitude. Hence the leader-. ship of the right-wing leaders in this.
However, it would be embarrassing to criticize the "limits"
of Soviet "democracy" while at the same time restricting internal ~ democracy in the PCI, The immediate consequence of the new course has been to loosen up the party. The increased liberalization offers more freedom for left-wing cadres,
Independently of their own intentions, the PCI bureaucrats have set:in motion something that will. be difficult to control if it gains momentum. The coming municipal elections will, of course, ease the internal debate, since the cadres are busy campaigning. After that some stirring, things can happen in the PCI as the debate deepens.