Results of Italian Elections Gratifying to Jewish Community

Italy’s Jews reacted with relief at the lackluster showing of the country’s right-wing parties in this week’s parliamentary elections.

“I am satisfied by the fact that the elections have proven that there is a strong democratic vocation in Italy and an enduring revulsion against any kind of rightist, post-fascist trend,” Tullia Zevi, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, said in an interview.

A center-left coalition made up mainly of the former Communist Party won Sunday’s general election in Italy, bringing leftists to power for the first time since Italy became a republic after World War II.

The victory by the so-called Olive Tree Alliance dealt a stunning blow to the center-right Freedom Alliance coalition, led by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

To the satisfaction of most Italian Jews, Berlusconi’s key ally, the National Alliance — a right-wing party whose roots are in neo-fascism — won far fewer votes than predicted.

The Jewish community was also gratified that a hardline neo-fascist party running independently won only a tiny fraction of the votes.

The Olive Tree is an alliance of more than half a dozen leftist and center parties.

Its biggest constituent grouping by far is the former Communist Party, now known as the Democratic Party of the Left.

The victory marks the first time in postwar Italy that the Communists or their successors will enter government.

But the new prime minister, who will lead Italy’s 55th government in 48 years, is likely to be the Olive Tree’s leader, Romano Prodi, a centrist Roman Catholic economist.

Going into the election, few observers had predicted a clear victory of either the center left or center right, and many had anticipated a continuing period of political stalemate and paralysis.

Most of the eligible voters among Italy’s 35,000 Jews are believed to have supported the Olive Tree.

While some politically conservative Jews were sympathetic to Berlusconi’s Forza Italia — or Go Italy — party or other components of the Freedom Alliance, Jewish leaders have openly expressed concern at the National Alliance’s gain in popularity in previous elections and public opinion polls.

They have also expressed skepticism at the efforts by National Alliance leader Gianfranco Fini to put his neo-fascist past behind him and declare himself and his party part of the conservative mainstream right.

To this end, Fini has openly condemned anti-Semitism and has courted Jewish support.

It was not clear whether public disillusionment with Berlusconi — who, among other things, is now on trial on corruption charges — hurt the National Alliance, or vice versa.

“I know people who wanted to vote for the National Alliance but didn’t want to give their votes to Berlusconi,” retired factory worker Aldo Bianconi said.

Some observers predict that the right may now regroup with Fini as its principle leader.

“We’re glad that the right didn’t win,” Federico Steinhaus, the president of the Jewish community in northern Italy’s Alto Adige province, said in an interview.

“But I have the impression that there is a trend toward the extremes. I think that [Berlusconi’s] Forza Italia party is not as strong as the National Alliance is.”