Vysoká Škola CEVRO Institut DIPLOMOVÁ PRÁCE Monika

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Vysoká Škola CEVRO Institut DIPLOMOVÁ PRÁCE Monika Vysoká škola CEVRO Institut DIPLOMOVÁ PRÁCE Monika Ovčaříková Praha 2015 Vysoká škola CEVRO Institut Katedra politologie a mezinárodních vztahů Transformace komunistické strany ve srovnávací perspektivě – případ Komunistické strany Čech a Moravy a Komunistické strany Itálie Monika Ovčaříková Studijní program: Politologie Studijní obor: Politologie Vedoucí práce: Mgr. Ladislav Mrklas, Ph.D. Diplomová práce Praha 2015 Prohlašuji, že jsem diplomovou práci zpracovala samostatně, uvedla v ní všechny použité prameny a zdroje a v textu řádně vyznačila jejich použití. V Praze dne 14. 8. 2015 Resumé: Diplomová práce srovnává vývoj československé komunistické strany (KSČ) a italské komunistické strany (PCI) a zejména s ohledem na porovnání procesu jejich transformace. Zkoumán je také vliv historických okolností na vývoj těchto politických stran. Téma práce je časově vymezeno obdobím od vzniku těchto stran, tedy počátkem 20. století do současnosti. Cílem této práce bude tedy zejména porovnání vlivu okolností na způsob transformace obou stran a současně je porovnán odlišný výsledek transformace stran. Jde o chronologickou politologicko-historickou kompilaci, která si klade za cíl dokázat, kam se strany ve svém vývoji dostaly a kam je možné je zařadit na současném ideologickém spektru. Klíčová slova: komunismus, Komunistická strana Itálie, Komunistická strana Československa, transformace, vývoj Resumé: The aim of the thesis is to compare the development of the Czechoslovak Communist Party (KSC) and the Italian Communist Party (PCI). Attention is focused especially to the comparison of the process of their transformation. It also analyzes the influence of historical circumstances on the development of these political parties. The topic is defined by the period of time since the creation of these parties, in the early 20th century, to the present. The comparison is focused mainly on the evaluation of the impact of given circumstances on the transformation of both parties. At the same time the differences in the resultes of the transformation are described. As a conclusion, the thesis reveals the current state of both comparred parties and their positions within the current ideological spectrum. The topic is described chronologically. The analysis combines political and historical approach. Keywords: communism, Communist Party of Italy, Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, transformation, development. Obsah ÚVOD ................................................................................................................................... 1 1. POLITICKÉ STRANY VZNIK A VÝVOJ ............................................................................. 3 1.1. Vznik a vývoj komunistické a radikálně levicové stranické rodiny .................... 4 1.2. Teorie antisystémové strany ................................................................................ 7 2. KOMUNISTICKÁ STRANA V ČESKOSLOVENSKU / ČESKÉ REPUBLICE ........................... 9 2.1. Vznik Komunistické strany Československa ...................................................... 9 2.1.1. Rozpad sociální demokracie ..................................................................... 10 2.1.2. Na cestě ke vzniku samostatné Komunistické strany Československa (KSČ) 12 2.2. Vývoj Komunistické strany Československa .................................................... 13 2.2.1. 20. léta a stabilizace KSČ na politické scéně ............................................ 13 2.2.2. Léta bolševizace strany ............................................................................. 13 2.2.3. KSČ v období po rozpadu tzv. první republiky ........................................ 14 2.2.4. KSČ a její cesta k moci ............................................................................. 16 2.3. KSČ státostranou ............................................................................................... 18 2.3.1. Stalinistický teror ...................................................................................... 18 2.3.2. Kritika kultu osobnosti a volná 60. léta..................................................... 19 2.3.3. Éra normalizace ......................................................................................... 23 2.4. Zlomový rok 1989 a hledání nové identity ....................................................... 25 2.4.1. KSČ – kam dál? ........................................................................................ 27 2.4.2. Pokusy o transformaci v době porevoluční ............................................... 29 2.4.3. Transformace strany v novém systému ..................................................... 30 2.4.4. Rozdělení na další stranické subjekty ....................................................... 33 2.4.5. Současná pozice KSČM ............................................................................ 36 3. Komunistická strana Itálie ......................................................................................... 37 3.1. Vznik a vývoj Komunistické strany Itálie ......................................................... 37 3.1.1. Vznik Komunistické strany Itálie .............................................................. 37 3.1.2. PCI během fašistického režimu ................................................................. 38 3.1.3. Nová PCI a její koncept „pokrokové demokracie“ ................................... 39 3.1.4. PCI a tzv. „historický kompromis“ ........................................................... 41 3.1.5. Konec historického kompromisu .............................................................. 44 3.2. Na cestě k nové PCI .......................................................................................... 44 3.2.1. Pokusy o transformaci ............................................................................... 46 3.2.2. Konec éry PCI ........................................................................................... 49 3.2.3. Úspěšná transformace? .............................................................................. 53 4. KOMUNSITICKÉ STRANY ČESKOSLOVENSKÉ / ČESKÉ REPUBLIKY a ITALSKÉ REPUBLIKY VE SROVNÁVACÍ PERSPEKTIVĚ ....................................................................... 55 4.1. Antistystémové strany? ............................................................................. 49 4.2. Úspěšná transformace? ............................................................................ 537 Závěr ...................................................................................................................... 58 Seznam literatury ................................................................................................... 60 Přílohy .................................................................................................................... 63 ÚVOD Již více než 25 let uplynulo od pádu železné opony v Evropě a tím i od vítězství demokracie nad komunistickou totalitou. Po 25 letech znovu sílí hnutí, která odkazují na marxistickou ideologii. Je proto nutné se vracet k historii a stále znovu ji opakovat a vysvětlovat. Transformace komunistických stran je jevem, ke kterému běžně docházelo a to ať už v zemích s totalitní či autoritativní komunistickou minulostí anebo v zemích, kde komunistická strana nebyla státostranou, ale byla důležitou součástí stranického spektra. V každé ze zemí, kde komunistická strana hrála významnou roli, došlo k její transformaci či konsolidaci a to dle specifik dané země. V tom případě je tedy možné se zaměřit na posuny v ideologii stran, zda lze u dříve komunistických stran vyznávajících marxismus, jako jedinou ideologii, hledat nyní prvky sociálně demokratické, či zda jde o čisté socialistické / sociálně demokratické strany. Většina komunistických stran se po ukončení bipolárního rozdělení světa snažila o určitý politický posun, který by upravil její původní totalitární komunistickou ideologii. Po roce 1989 se mohlo zdát, že tyto strany, především státostrany, ale i jiné komunistické strany jsou zdiskreditované, ovšem čas prokázal, že tomu nebylo a není tak. Některé komunistické strany svou transformaci myslely vážně a můžeme skutečně pozorovat vývoj v jejich programech a asi i v myšlení většiny členů, ovšem některé strany svou transformaci pojali jako kosmetickou změnu, z programu sice vypustili revoluční a další myšlenky, ovšem stále doufají, že nastane čas na revoluční změny. V této práci postavím vedle sebe stranu, která se ani nesnaží skrývat, že byla po více než 40 let monopolní stranou a po zániku socialistické republiky převzala po státostraně veškeré ideologické dědictví. A na druhou stranu postavím stranu, která v době bipolárního uspořádání nebyla státostranou, naopak proti jedné státostraně aktivně bojovala a po jisté období byla minimálně největší 1 stranou na levici. Mým cílem v této práci je najít a zhodnotit společná východiska těchto dvou komunistických stran s odkazem na teorii vzniku politických stran, zhodnocení za jakých okolností ke vzniku těchto stran došlo a jakým směrem se ubíral jejich vývoj. Je tedy zřejmé, že nenalezneme jasnou paralelu ve vývoji stran po konci druhé světové války, protože je pochopitelné, že dějiny Itálie a Československa se ubíraly v tomto období zcela jiným směrem. Domnívám se, že komunismus a potažmo komunistická strana není pohřbený fenomén, o kterém by se již jednou pro vždy dalo hovořit v minulém čase, naopak se domnívám, že v historických periodách se bude drát na povrch a je otázkou stran a stranického systému, zda-li mu dají živnou půdu, ve které by se mohl
Recommended publications
  • Interests, Preferences, and Center-Left Party Politics in Corporate Governance Reform
    Interests, Preferences, and Center-Left Party Politics in Corporate Governance Reform John W. Cioffi* and Martin Höpner** (Published in: Politics & Society 34, 4, 463-502. Page numbers of the orginal text are marked with (here starts p. xxx)) John W. Cioffi ([email protected]), J.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Riverside. His research explores the relationships between law and political economy and focuses on the politics of corporate governance reform in Europe and the United States from the 1980s to the present. His publications include: “Revenge of the Law?: Securities Litigation Reform and Sarbanes-Oxley’s Structural Regulation of Corporate Governance,” in Martin Levin, Martin Shapiro, and Mark Landy (eds.), Creating Competitive Markets: The Politics and Economics of Regulatory Reform (Brookings Institution Press, 2006); “Building Finance Capitalism: The Regulatory Politics of Corporate Governance Reform in the United States and Germany,” in Jonah D. Levy (ed.), The State After Statism: New State Activities in the Age of Globalization and Liberalization (Harvard University Press, 2006); “Corporate Governance Reform, Regulatory Politics, and the Foundations of Finance Capitalism in the United States and Germany,” German Law Journal (2006); “The State of the Corporation: State Power, Politics, Policymaking and Corporate Governance in the United States, Germany, and France,” in Martin Shapiro and Martin Levin (eds.), Transatlantic Policymaking in an Age of Austerity (Georgetown University Press, 2004); “Restructuring ‘Germany, Inc.’: The Corporate Governance Debate and the Politics of Company Law Reform,” Law & Policy, (2002). Martin Höpner ([email protected]), Ph.D., is a political scientists and researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne, Germany.
    [Show full text]
  • The Italian Communist Party 1921--1964: a Profile
    University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers 1-1-1966 The Italian Communist Party 1921--1964: A profile. Aldo U. Marchini University of Windsor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Recommended Citation Marchini, Aldo U., "The Italian Communist Party 1921--1964: A profile." (1966). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 6438. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/6438 This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. These documents are made available for personal study and research purposes only, in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act and the Creative Commons license—CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works). Under this license, works must always be attributed to the copyright holder (original author), cannot be used for any commercial purposes, and may not be altered. Any other use would require the permission of the copyright holder. Students may inquire about withdrawing their dissertation and/or thesis from this database. For additional inquiries, please contact the repository administrator via email ([email protected]) or by telephone at 519-253-3000ext. 3208. NOTE TO USERS Page(s) not included in the original manuscript and are unavailable from the author or university. The manuscript was scanned as received. it This reproduction is the best copy available. UMI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE ITALIAN COkkUNIST PARTY 1921 - 196A: A PROPILE by ALDO U.
    [Show full text]
  • The “Bordigist Current”
    THE “BORDIGIST CURRENT” (1919-1999) Italy, France, Belgium Philippe Bourrinet Index Introduction ...........................................................................................................5 1. The origins (1912-1926) ........................................................................................11 2. German Left or Italian Left? ...................................................................................30 3. The Birth of the Left Fraction of the PCI ..............................................................45 1933-39 Bilan. Milestones on the road to defeat 4. The Weight of the Counter-Revolution..................................................................65 5. The War in Spain: No Betrayal! .............................................................................88 6. Towards war or revolution? (1937-39) ..................................................................103 7. Balance sheet of the Russian Revolution...............................................................115 1939-45 Trial by fire 8. The ordeal of war: from fraction to party? ............................................................137 9. The “Partito Comunista Internazionalista” ...........................................................153 Conclusion..........................................................................................................167 Appendix 1 DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES OF THE BELGIAN FRACTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNIST LEFT...................170 Appendix 2 Manifesto of the Communist Left
    [Show full text]
  • Italian Communist Party
    Manifesto Program of the (new) Italian Communist Party March 2008 We dedicate this Manifesto Program to all the heroes of the first wave of the world proletarian revolution. Commissione Provvisoria del Comitato Centrale del (nuovo)Partito comunista italiano Web site: http://lavoce-npci.samizdat.net email: [email protected] *** Delegazione: BP3 4, rue Lénine 93451 L’Île St Denis (Francia { XE “Francia” }) email: [email protected] Manifesto Program of the (new) Italian Communist Party (Preliminary note: With the asterisk (*) we indicate that this Manifesto Program is using a category, a concept that in our conception has a precise meaning that the reader cannot understand by the current meaning of the terms. The Manifesto Program itself will explain below what this category or concept means) Introduction The world we are living in is shaken by heavy con- is the transformation the humanity has to carry out. vulsions from end to end. They are the convulsions of The bourgeoisie imposes to the popular masses so the old world dying and the new one rising. The old cruel and unbearable conditions that the struggle world splits in two, one part going to die and the other against it explodes in thousand ways. Where the com- going to give birth to the communist society, a new munists are not yet able to be their direction, other phase in humanity’s history. classes are doing it, with the limits and forms consis- The bourgeoisie took advantage of the period of tent with their nature. decay the organized and conscious communist move- However, in the struggle to face the devastating ef- ment (*) went through in the second half of the last fects of the contradictions of capitalism, made again century.
    [Show full text]
  • The Selectorate Model of Government Stability: an Application to Italy
    Department of Political Science Chair of Political Science The Selectorate Model of Government Stability: an Application to Italy Prof. ID 082702 De Sio Pierluigi Gagliardi SUPERVISOR CANDIDATE Academic Year 2018/2019 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 3 CHAPTER 1 - History of the Italian Political System anD Government Stability ...................... 7 1.1 The Liberal State .............................................................................................................................. 7 1.1.1 The Historical Right and Left ............................................................................................................................ 7 1.1.2 The Giolitti Era ................................................................................................................................................. 9 1.2 Fascism and the transition to Democracy ...................................................................................... 10 1.2.1 Fascism ........................................................................................................................................................... 10 1.2.2 Transition to democracy ................................................................................................................................ 11 1.2.3 The end of Fascism (1943-1945) ...................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • State Feminism and Political Representation Edited by Joni Lovenduski Index More Information
    Cambridge University Press 0521617642 - State Feminism and Political Representation Edited by Joni Lovenduski Index More information Index affirmative action 131 see also quotas Green Alternative Party (GAL) 33, 36 Agacinski, Sylviane 98 Liberales Forum (LIF) 34, 35, 36, 37, 39 Aho, Esko 79 Social Democratic Party (SPO¨ ) 21, 22–3, Alberdi, Cristina 186 24, 25, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, Almunia, Joaquı´n 187 38, 39 Amato, Guilliano 149 Bundefrauenorganisation der SPO¨ 25–6, Ameline, Nicole 103 38, 39 Amsterdam Treaty 22, 216, 234, 262, authorised representation 3 291 autonomous feminists 47, 148, 149, 224 Anselmi, Tina 3, 140, 142 Avice, Edwige 93 Are the Social Democrats a Women’s Party? 209 Bacchi, Carol 7 Association 9 68 Bachelot, Roselyne 98, 99 Au pouvoir citoyennes! Liberte´, E´galite´, Parite´ Badinter, E´ lisabeth 98 98 Badinter, Robert 99 Austria, consociational democracy 20 Barzach, Miche`le 99 Constitutional Court 27 Becket, Margaret 231 corporatism 20 Belgium, autonomous feminists 47–8 social partner organisations 21 consociationalism 41 Austria, debates Council of Ministers 44 equal treatment in the civil service, Council of State 44 1981–1993 26–32 integrated feminists 47–8, 54, 57 public party subsidies, 1994–1999 32–7 political representation in 33–4, 41–2 women’s access to the cabinet 1975–1979 Walloon Region 42, 43 22–6 Belgium, debates Austria, employment associations quota for advisory committees, Employers’ Association 21 1990–1997 50–4 Trade Union Federation 30 quota for electoral lists, 1980–1994 Wage Earners’
    [Show full text]
  • Italian Communists, the Cold War, and West-East Migration from Venezia Giulia, 1945-1949
    Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2019 Liberation by Emigration: Italian Communists, the Cold War, and West-East Migration from Venezia Giulia, 1945-1949 Luke Gramith West Virginia University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Part of the European History Commons, Intellectual History Commons, Labor History Commons, Political History Commons, and the Social History Commons Recommended Citation Gramith, Luke, "Liberation by Emigration: Italian Communists, the Cold War, and West-East Migration from Venezia Giulia, 1945-1949" (2019). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 3914. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/3914 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LIBERATION BY EMIGRATION: ITALIAN COMMUNISTS, THE COLD WAR, AND WEST-EAST MIGRATION FROM VENEZIA GIULIA, 1945-1949 Luke Gramith Dissertation submitted to the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Joshua Arthurs, Ph.D., Chair Katherine Aaslestad, Ph.D.
    [Show full text]
  • The Communist Party
    the Communist Party WHAT DISTINGUISHES OUR PARTY – The line running from Marx to Lenin to the foundation of the Third International and the birth of the Communist Party of Italy in March ­ April 2019 Leghorn (Livorno) 1921, and from there to the struggle of the Italian Communist Left against the degeneration in Moscow and to the rejection of popular fronts and newspaper of the Issue 12 | 25¢ 25p coalition of resistance groups – The tough work of restoring the revolutionary doctrine and the party organ, in contact with the working class, outside the realm international communist party international­communist­party.org of personal politics and electoralist manoevrings Taiwan, South Korea, Greece and Turkey; or transnational) and increase the In the War certainly in exchange there are equivalent penetration of foreign investment. This counterparts in the American trade war on explains the path being taken towards the Hotbed of the world markets. elimination of subsidies on the prices of Organic Centralism: How and Why Middle East The story of Jamal Khashoggi, products and services and the elimination Two fundamental principles of the revolutionary organization have always the journalist savagely killed in the Saudi of the Ration Card, towards monetary been centralism and strict discipline. Following the retaking of a consulate in Istanbul on October 2, has reunification and currency devaluation. In our party, centralism ­ as a unity of structure and movement ­ is best large part of national territory by the provided a pretext for Turkey and other Private mercantile activities that have described as "organic". Organic centralism is a way of life that the political formation Damascus regime, the phase of relative ancient and stable allies of Saudi Arabia remained hidden or buried in the Cuban of the proletariat has managed to select after passing through a historical course and stabilization of Syria has led to a to express their disagreements and distrust economy are flourishing with increasing different stages of its struggle against the bourgeoisie.
    [Show full text]
  • Coalition Politics in Western Europe: Case of Germany, Italy and France
    Coalition Politics in Western Europe: Case of Germany, Italy and France Pardeep Kumar Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies New Delhi-110054 Abstract The Stability of West German political system has been based on the ability and willingness of all relevant social groups and political parties to cooperate within the accepted constitutional, legal, and institutional framework. France represents a variant of coalition-building in which the President has important powers in coalition formation. In such a semi-presidential system coalition formation seems to be the most important presidential prerogative. Most Presidents have extensively used their power to select candidates for the position of prime ministers, given them instructions for party negotiations The second aspect is the existence of an electoral system wherein the parties use the second ballot for the building of coalitions. The instability and stalemate in Italian politics has been the result of fragmented and factionalized parties, in which political conflict or ‗crisis‘ were created frequently. One aspect which distinguished Italy from other West European democracies is the perennial lack of political alteration‖ which reflects ―a political culture characterized by a chronic lack of trust in parties and movements that are not in government. Keywords: Coalition, Electoral, Government, Parties, Politics. Introduction The erosion of the classical British two-party system (where two or only two cohesive parties existed) and reform of electoral systems in the direction of proportional representation has transformed, parliamentary democracies in the twentieth century into multiparty systems. In such a multiparty system where three or more parties seek to win parliamentary seats, there is always the possibility that none of them is in a position to attain a parliamentary majority alone.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter Two Antonio Gramsci and the Italian Communist Press in the Fascist Era
    Chapter Two Antonio Gramsci and the Italian Communist Press in the Fascist Era Gramsci and L’Ordine Nuovo The first issue of L’Ordine Nuovo, subtitled a ‘weekly review of socialist culture’, appeared in Turin on 1 May 1919. The review was launched by four dedicated left-wing Socialists who, in January 1921, were among the founders of the Com- munist Party of Italy: Antonio Gramsci, Palmiro Togliatti, Angelo Tasca, and Umberto Terracini. Gramsci was the leader of the quadrumvirate. He was a small, hunchbacked man, but his lucid intelligence and tenacious will compensated for his physical disabilities. He had left his native Sardinia in 1911 to pursue a course of liter- ary and philological studies at the University of Turin. Dur- ing World War I, he resumed his early interests in politics and economics, and by the beginning of 1917 he was named secretary of the Turinese section of the Italian Socialist Party. From that point on he devoted himself to the task of building a militant socialist movement in Italy. The weekly L’Ordine Nuovo of the years 1919 and 1920 reflected the experiences and thought of those Italian social- ists who, like Gramsci and his friends, were dissatisfied with what they regarded as the excessively cautious and oppor- tunistic policies of their party’s leadership and who aspired to place the Italian Socialist Party at the vanguard of a revo- lutionary movement capable of rebuilding Italian society on new foundations. The review spurred on the Turin workers in their struggles against the city’s managerial and industrial 48 • Chapter Two class.
    [Show full text]
  • Movement of Refusal: Social Movements and Social Conflict in Italy in the 1970’S
    Middlesex University Research Repository An open access repository of Middlesex University research http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk Cuninghame, Patrick Gun (2002) Autonomia: a movement of refusal: social movements and social conflict in Italy in the 1970’s. PhD thesis, Middlesex University. [Thesis] Final accepted version (with author’s formatting) This version is available at: https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/6688/ Copyright: Middlesex University Research Repository makes the University’s research available electronically. Copyright and moral rights to this work are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners unless otherwise stated. The work is supplied on the understanding that any use for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. A copy may be downloaded for personal, non-commercial, research or study without prior permission and without charge. Works, including theses and research projects, may not be reproduced in any format or medium, or extensive quotations taken from them, or their content changed in any way, without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). They may not be sold or exploited commercially in any format or medium without the prior written permission of the copyright holder(s). Full bibliographic details must be given when referring to, or quoting from full items including the author’s name, the title of the work, publication details where relevant (place, publisher, date), pag- ination, and for theses or dissertations the awarding institution, the degree type awarded, and the date of the award. If you believe that any material held in the repository infringes copyright law, please contact the Repository Team at Middlesex University via the following email address: [email protected] The item will be removed from the repository while any claim is being investigated.
    [Show full text]
  • 12.1 the 1964 Revision of the Italo-Swiss Bilateral Labour Accord
    12.1 The 1964 revision of the Italo-Swiss bilateral labour accord Bilateral labour accords usually reflect the subordination and domination respectively of the two “partner” states, with the labour- supplying state usually having less influence over outcomes. The case examined here however resulted in significant gains for Italian migrant workers and their families, but forever changed Swiss politics and society. It transformed Switzerland into a land of immigration, an outcome totally unforeseen at the inception of the recruitment of Italian workers after World War II. After World War II, Switzerland resumed large-scale recruitment of seasonal foreign workers, most of whom were Italian citizens. Seasonal foreign workers were obligated to return home every year, but the renewal of seasonal permits was a possibility, and many returned year after year. By the early 1960s, religious organizations, trade unions, and Italian organizations in Switzerland linked to the Communist Party of Italy (PCI) and to the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Italian government began to criticize the status afforded seasonal workers. A major concern arose from the protracted separation of the seasonal foreign workers from their families. Family members did have visitation rights and many overstayed illegally. Schooling of children of Italian seasonal workers became particularly problematic. This led to calls for reform of Switzerland’s seasonal foreign worker policy. The Italian government began to press for renegotiation of the 1948 bilateral agreement that regulated employment of Italians in Switzerland. The Italian fraternal organizations in Switzerland with ties to the PCI and its trade union affiliates and the Catholic Church played significant roles in this outcome.
    [Show full text]