The european dimension of political discourse in Italy. A ... - CIRCaP

N. CONTI / L. VERZICHELLI
wealth concentration, economic disequilibria. Moreover, European integration was found to
produce the crisis of the domestic agricultural sector, peasants’ migrations and price
increase. Among the main Italian parties, the Pci showed the highest level of attention
towards the theme of the defence of domestic interests, with the party systematically
mentioning until the mid-seventies the overall negative impact of EEC on such interests, and
only later proving silent (yet not positive) on this problem. Still at the end of the seventies this
was one strong point of the Communist criticism to European integration, to the extent that
one specific party proposal was to adopt a domestic strategy of rejection of any European
decision conflicting with domestic interests. However, in spite of its criticisms, the party
acknowledged the European arena as a valuable environment for promoting some of its
programmatic priorities, such as the development of Mezzogiorno and of social policies. And
for this reason the Pci also claimed a better representation of the country in the European
institutions.
The attitudes of the Pci towards European integration did not change much during the
eighties: a continuity with the “established idea of Europe” characterized its positions during
this decade. Western Europe was considered the natural environment where the party could
fruitfully develop relationships with other left-wing forces, and for this reason the party was
strongly committed to support enlargement to Spain, Portugal and Greece, countries where
the left was strong. The way to “European socialism” was not conceived as a national way
any longer, but rather as an international process having in Europe its natural environment.
The role of Europe in the world order was still conceived in terms of promotion of peace and
cooperation, but during the eighties the emphasis mainly shifted to the issue of cooperation
with developing countries. The party still promoted an alternative way to integration, mainly
focused on the international mission of a more integrated Europe, on internal
democratisation and on social policies. The party was also much less critical in relation to the
outcomes of European integration and stated that the success of peace, disarmament and
international economic cooperation would be linked to EC-building and to its ability to
become a real political Union.
The Pci was the Italian party with the longest-lasting opposition to European integration. The
analysis of party documents shows that opposition was voiced through explicit critical
positions. Shifts in the party preferences were often preceded by a period of silence on the
relevant aspects. Once the party shifted to pro-European positions, the documents started to
be even more articulate and they developed an alternative model of integration. If in the case
of the Dc our analysis could shed a light on some intra-party tensions in relation to European
integration, here we should stress the evidence of an opposite model of party preference
24