Berlinguer’s influence cannot be overstated in not only Italy but the Middle East and America. His time as Prime Minister led to not only the rise of Eurocommunism as a viable ideology amongst the left but also the fall of Buddy Cianci. During his short three years he had seen a campaign of terror aimed at dislodging him from power by the Unholy Alliance of the CIA, mafia, and P2 but still held strong, attempting to crackdown on the terrorist attacks but failing to crush it due to the influence of the CIA. Furthermore, he also radically shifted Italy’s overton window to the left with the Socialists being forced to oust Craxi and the Christian Democrats being put on the path of becoming the Party of Prodi less than Andreotti. Furthermore, Berlinguer further advanced the cause of Palestinian rights to the point that it became a mainstream position to support Palestine over Israel. Though, it’s without a shadow of a doubt his arch enemy made an equal contribution to that shift.
But Berlinguer’s influence was stopped dead in its track just like his life on a fateful day in June.
June 23rd, 1984 was a normal day. It was drizzling in Rome but nothing was out of the ordinary for Italy. Corruption was rampant, Berlinguer was attempting to crush the terrorists who had murdered his countrymen, and Aldo Moro was once again trying to rangle control of the Christian Democrats from the right. But on this ordinary day, right after Berlinguer met with Minister of the Interior Alessandro Natta to discuss the upcoming 1985 Italian Presidential Election, in which Berlinguer expected to push Nilde Iotti as the PCI’s candidate. Berlinguer then suddenly collapsed. Natta called for paramedics and performed CPR but it was in vain as Berlinguer had suffered brain hemorrhage and two days later he was pronounced dead.
Berlinguer’s death came as a massive shock to Italy and the world. Upon his death he was heralded a hero, not only to Italy but the third world and the international left. Today he’s remembered as one of the most principled men of the 20th century and a great unifier who kept the PCI together to effectively pass socialist policies, which would never be seen as the PCI suffered a split in 1992 with the ascension of the reformist Achille Occhetto to Prime Minister.
Berlinguer’s funeral would be attended by nearly every world leader who mattered. Fedorchuk traveled from Moscow to Rome, Pope Nicholas VI set aside a visit to Greece to be with his friend Aldo Moro, Opposition Leader Giulio Andreotti put aside their differences, Cianci flew to Rome all while barely hiding his joy, and president of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega. Hundreds of thousands came to pay their respects in Rome and millions throughout the country.
President Sandro Pertini paying his respects to Berlinguer.
After the funeral was wrapped up and respect was paid by his longtime friend Aldo Moro Natta got to work. Unlike Berlinguer Natta was more radical and on foreign policy more like Andreas Papandreou's in Greece than Berlinguer, openly decrying American foreign policy in Iran, recognizing the PRRI and inviting Chairman Rajavi to Rome. Furthermore, he attempted to cool relations with Moscow by inviting Chairman Fedorchuk to Rome but fortunately for the PCI’s popularity that ship sailed. When the vote came up for including a plank that condemned the Soviets as an imperialist power it was approved with 68% of the vote, being the first domino that would eventually cause the far left of the PCI to bolt.
But for now, Natta was able to use the torch he inherited from Berlinguer to unite the PCI in time for the 1984 General Election. Everyone knew Natta was going to call an early election, especially since him and PSI leader Giuliano Vassalli had a much worse relationship with each other compared to Berlinguer. Furthermore, Vassalli disliked Natta’s more radical agenda and support for the PRRI and disdain for NATO. With the predicted collapse of the coalition and a massive sympathy vote behind him, Natta announced an election for December 5th, 1984 and hit the ground running. The PCI put out a platform that called for nationalizing the Italian oil industry, nationalizing dockyards, embargoing Israel, cracking down on the mafia, increasing funding for police departments, and guaranteeing the right to a union by putting it in the constitution. The platform compared to the platform put out by the Christian Democrats gave Italians a plan to look forward too as the PCI built on Berlinguer’s legacy instead of repealing all of Berlinguer’s signature achievements.
PCI Rally in Naples.
Andreotti attempted to hammer the PCI on their radical economic agenda was unpopular amongst the Italian people as Natta painted Andreotti’s attacks on the PCI’s policies as an attack on Berlinguer’s legacy. Furthermore, the Socialists once again ate into the Christian Democrat’s usually strong white collar voting base due to Vassalli specifically targeting them throughout his leadership, splitting the opposition when the anti-Communists needed a united campaign. Furthermore, the Republican Party and Radicals forged an electoral alliance that was headed by Italian partisan and Senator Bruno Visentini who was a suitable compromise for the moderate Republicans and Libertarian Radicals.
The final political party that mattered was the MSI who was once again being led by Giorgio Almirante who presented himself as the leader of the anti-Communist resistance, fear mongering about Natta being a puppet of the Soviet Union and comparing the PCI platform to the Great Leap Forward.
The extreme rhetoric would secure the MSI’s third place finish as they secured the most desperate of the Christian Democrats who sought a firebrand anti-communist rather than a moral leader but also pushed away moderate blue- and white-collar workers who preferred the Christian Democrats or the Socialists.
The most notable side effect of the election, minus the possibility of a Communist majority was the violence by both the far-left and the far-right. During the election the CIA and P2 didn’t just arm and encourage the far right but actively encouraging the Red Brigades to wage war against the PCI. Not only did Cianci believed that an increase in far-left terrorism would harm the popularity of the PCI but also convince the Italian military to overthrow Natta or at least make sure Andreotti won. Of course, while there were elements in the Italian government that wanted to see Natta removed but most understood that would be a terrible idea. After all, Italy was still in NATO and the PCI during Berlinguer’s term condemned the Soviet Union, so the chances of Italy being turned into another Soviet Union or China were very slim. Furthermore, the PCI went out of their way to condemn and harshly punish the Red Brigades which was enough of a reassurance for several high-ranking officials in the military and intelligence community to prevent a coup attempt. Despite the harsh crackdown which saw constant raids on the Red Brigades and the NAR the Years of Lead only intensified, notably in the industrial regions of Italy which saw union leaders and police officers murdered with American bullets and guns. One notable example was when Minister of Defense Giorgio Napolitano was killed when three Red Brigade members shot up a police station he was visiting in Florence.
The Assassination of Napolitano was notable for being actively encouraged by the US government, with undercover CIA agents pushing the Red Brigade members to take drastic action. Along with the Assassination of Napolitano the Flight 450 Massacre which saw an Alitalia flight heading to Brazil disappear over the Mediterranean Ocean. It wasn’t until the Coltello Insanguinato scandal broke that the truth was uncovered. The truth was that the P2 Lodge executed this in an attempt to destroy the PCI’s lead in the polls. Of course, this failed and much to the horror of the Unholy Alliance Natta did what Berlinguer only dreamed of: won a majority.
At midnight the official tally was announced and cheers could be heard from the Chigi Palace as the PCI won a majority of three seats. The Christian Democrats were reduced to 145 seats, a number that remained the lowest until 1987.
In the White House on the other hand there were no cheers but only screams of rage. Cianci and Licio Gelli where in the White House living room watched the results live. “Are ya fuckin kiddin me Licio?”
“Uh.”
“I gave ya one fuckin job and ya fucked it up! All that money could’ve been sent to Guatemala or the Contras.”
“Well, Bud-”
“It’s President.”
Gelli fumbled for a few seconds before saying “uh President, the Communists have clearly hypnotized the Italian people into supporting an evil system. Our campaign has been effective, killing one of the moderate bastards.”
“If it worked Licio Andreotti would be Prime Minister and not Natta.”
“We just need more time.”
“Bullshit. You need better strategy. We had the guns in Vietnam did we win? No. We got our asses kicked by a bunch of farmers because we didn’t strategize,” Cianci said, calming down as the gears in his head came up with a plan. “I’ll tell ya what, stop targeting civilians and shit and start targeting the government machine. We got some men on the inside, correct? Pietro Longo and the MSI. Furthermore, you’ve got connections with the banks correct? ”
“Yes.”
“Then I need a favor from Calvi and his friends. Ya need to tell him to bribe every anti-Communist politician we can find. I guarantee we can get Andreotti on our side as he’s already working with some of my buddies in the Cosa Nostra. Just give him some BS about helping him regain power and then we can get the others in the Christian Democrats to join us and sabotage the PCI from the inside.”
Gelli cracked a smirk and thought for a couple seconds before saying “what about Moro?”
“That traitor can be circumvented, just bribe the no names who have power the average man can’t name and once the Natta regime starts to breakdown the Italian people will vote those bastards out.”
“Gotcha. I’ll start making calls.”
Cianci looked at Gelli and laughed. “No, no, no. You’re not going to fuck this up Licio. You didn’t prevent a PCI majority, let alone Natta being re-elected for another four years. Imma get Andreotti on our side myself as I got Meese and Marcos. You don't tell them how you plan to achieve your goals you just give them the money and they won't ask a single question.”
Gelli was visibly upset at the news, with his face turning from determined and happy that his plan would succeed to a glum face as he realized he wasn’t the one with the power. Hell, even Andreotti, the man who had more connections than Natta didn’t have any power. Gelli knew at this moment things were going to get ugly and way uglier if he dared to challenge the authority of the who could end more than just his career with two words out of his mouth. So Gelli decided to nod in agreement instead of protest his diminishing power.
After that meeting with Gelli, Cianci got to work planning for the future. At this point in 1985 he was at the height of his power, and he wasn’t ready to give up that power. Luckily his Vice President agreed with him.
Vice President Vander Jagt, if you take an US history class is someone you learn whose importance lasts only longer than his popularity. 1985 was when his importance became obvious to the American people and Cianci. After Cianci’s crushing victory over Fred Harris in 1984, Vander Jagt came up with a peculiar plan that ensured his legacy amongst the American people. That was repealing the 22nd Amendment and allowing Presidents to run for as many terms as they wanted. To Cianci, this was great.
With his two terms coming up he was having a hard time finding a successor who would carry on the criminal empire he built. But a third or even fourth term would allow him to entrench his empire and groom a successor who would carry the empire. The push for the repeal of the 22nd began when Vander Jagt went on Sixty Minutes and made his case to Al Gore, saying:
“The 22nd Amendment is an attack on our democracy and is intended to limit the political power of the people, not the President. President Cianci for example is a man of the people who cannot be stopped. His crusade against corruption and Communism is unmatched and his popularity shows this. Furthermore, unlike past Presidents he knows what it’s like to grow up in an average neighborhood instead of a mansion. If we want to ensure the fact that the US is a country of common people we must allow President Cianci to run for another term so he can continue his holy crusade against the evils of communism, corruption, and drugs that under Nixon and Jackson destroyed our nation.”
Vander Jagt’s tirade was originally praised by several corners of the GOP. The new pseudo-populist wing of the GOP, led by Bo Callaway of Colorado whose views of democracy can best be described as hostile considering his support for segregation (which he backed away from in 1980 to narrowly win a Senate seat in Colorado). Callaway during a debate with New York Senator Elizabeth Holtzman decried the 22nd as a restriction on the will of the American people who had sought an anti-corruption candidate and had finally been gifted one who would surely win re-election.
The attempt to push the repeal of the 22nd was one that brought massive backlash to Cianci and more scrutiny. Senator Holtzman especially became the loudest voice opposing Cianci, calling a typical politician at heart who makes big promises but lines his own pockets instead. Furthermore, moderate Republicans such as Lowell Weicker and Ted Stevens denounced the idea as idiotic and the first step towards mob rule, though on the latter point the US was already there. Cianci refused to back down though and ordered Vander Jagt to keep making arguments in favor of repealing the 22nd. In fact, Cianci never spoke publicly in favor about repealing the 22nd in order to keep up his image as a benevolent yet fire-breathing man of the people (saying “it depends on what the American people want, not me)”. Of course, Vander Jagt was a loyal foot soldier who gladly dug his own grave to fight for repealing the 22nd, making populist overtures to the American people and goes on about democracy and returning power to common people as Cianci looted hundreds of millions each year from the US and listened more and more to kleptocrats and totalitarians such as Ferdinand Marcos, Roberto Calvi, and Licio Gelli.
As the debate over the 22nd raged in the US, Cianci left the country to visit two men. Giulio Andreotti and Ferdinand Marcos, one which he considered a pawn and another he considered a friend. It was the perfect way to dodge journalists about the 22nd and to expand his empire.