Ext 6116/46(S) 'Secret Weekly Political Intelligence Summaries, nos 356-416, August 1946-November 1947' [‎93r] (185/978)

13
of chronic disequilibrium, even when she
was doing her utmost to achieve self-
sufficiency in agricultural products, it is
unlikely that in the present state of
economic chaos equilibrium will be
achieved as easily or as quickly as appears
^be envisaged by Professor Einaudi.
The Italian authorities have announced
their inability, owing to increasingly
serious foreign exchange difficulties, to
meet—at least for the present—H.M.
Government’s request that the more favour
able rate of exchange ruling for imports
from countries with which Italy has
bilateral “ clearing ” agreements should be
extended to imports from the United
Kingdom.
The present Government, in addition to
having to face accusations of failure to
meet the internal and external financial and
economic problems of Italy, may also be
deemed by their opponents in Italy to have
failed to secure the best results from their
policy of seeking political as well as
economic support from the West.
Erratum
Summary 409, Italy. The second
sentence of the first paragraph should
read :—The Italian instrument of ratifica
tion was handed over on the same day to
the Secretary-General of the French
Ministry for Foreign Affairs ....
SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE
Hungary
Out of a total of 5,031,025 votes cast in
the Election on the 31st August 4,998,338
are declared to have been valid. The final
distribution of seats, votes and percentages
is as follows :—
Coalition Parties
Seats
Votes
Per
centages
Communists
100
1,113,050
22-27
Smallholders
68
769,763
15-40
Social Democrats ...
67
744,641
14-90
National Peasant
Party
36
415,465
8-31
Total
271
3,042,919
60-88
Opposition Parties
Democratic People’s
Party
60
820,453
16-41
Hungarian Indepen-
dence Party
49
670,547
13-42
Independent Hun
garian Democratic
Party
18
260,420
5-21
Radical Party
6
84,169
1-68
Christian Women’s
Party
4
69,536
1-39
Bourgeois Demo-
cratic Party
3
50,294
1-01
Total
140
1,955,419
39-12
As previously indicated (see Summary
407) the fact that the Coalition Parties
enjoy a higher representation in Parlia
ment than their percentage of votes at
first sight justifies can be explained by
article 20 of the Electoral Law, which
allows them 80 per cent, of the 60 general
list seats by reason of their having
obtained 60 per cent, of the total votes.
Parliament, as the National Assembly
will henceforth be called, was formally
opened on the 16th September by M. Tildy
who spoke of the significance which Hun
gary attached to the entry into force of
the Peace Treaty when the instruments of
ratification were deposited in Moscow the
previous day. Responsibility for Hun
gary’s plight, said M. Tildy, attached
rather to the leaders of the country than
the people. The time had come for her
to survey her position, to assess the amount
of the ground already covered, and to
examine and correct her mistakes. M.
Tildy affirmed Hungary’s intention of ful
filling her treaty obligations loyally and
admitted indebtedness to the Great Powers
with whom, as with all her neighbours, she
desired to live at peace.
No agreement has yet been reached as to
the composition of the new Government.
The main struggle is between the Com
munists and the Social Democrats who are
demanding their due share of representa
tion in all branches of the administration
and have even contemplated putting for
ward a claim to the Ministry of the
Interior. The Communists not unnaturally
refused to surrender any of the territory
which they had gained, but at the same
time endeavoured to conciliate the Social
Democrats by declaring themselves willing
to meet them wherever possible, as for
instance, on the question of terminating
forcible recruitment from one party to
another. Both Social Democrats and
Smallholders stress the urgency of recti
fying electoral abuses, while the Social
Democrats add that it is to these and to the
last-minute Communist return to the theme
of fusion that they owe their losses. Not
withstanding the indignation that is felt,
they are, however, their spokesmen explain,
none the less a left-wing party. Their
leadership at present appears to be un
shaken, M. Szakasits having received a
unanimous vote of confidence from the
General Committee, but this does not reflect
the attitude of the rank-and-file.
The position of the Smallholders is
equally uncertain. Dissatisfaction with
M. Dinnyes is such that the diminished
Party appears to be in process of further