Starting with a quick overview of the historiography of Italy from Fascism to the\ud
Republic, this article looks at Alcide De Gasperi’s establishment as a leader\ud
within both the Italian political system and within his Party – the Christian\ud
Democrats – casting new light on three aspects of his political activity: (1) his\ud
relationship with the Church and the Catholics’ new modes of participation in\ud
political life; (2) the reasons inspiring the definition of the Republican State’s\ud
institutional architecture; and (3) alliance strategy in government formation and\ud
in relationships with the other parties. The originality of De Gasperi’s political\ud
activity can be defined in terms of these issues, together with the development of a\ud
distinctive political leadership, for too long overlooked, that would play a critical\ud
role in carrying Italy through its postwar reconstruction
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