ENRICO SERRA

La politica estera dei Governi Bonomi: 1944-45  

N. 3/1987

Summary - Set up in June 1944 as the expression of the Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale, the Bonomi government had to face enormous problems in a Country occupied by foreign troops and looked upon by the Anglo-Americans as an "ally enemy".

Bonomi, who till December 1944 held besides the Ministry of the Interior also the interim of Foreign Affairs, spared no efforts to obtain from the allies terms that would facilitate the war effort of the Italians, essential premise for the passage of Italy from the status of co-belligerent to that of "associate". He turned also to Stalin, but the a1lies despite their many promises, never allowed a full participation of Italy in the war against Germany, for the declared purpose of maintaining a free hand to impose on Italy "heavy terms of peace". They did not even let Bonomi to make public the very hard terms of the "long" armistice, or of Malta, which Badoglio signed (and he should not have done it) on vague promises by the allies.

If  Bonomi was able, thanks to President Truman, to thwart General De Gaulle’s attempt to occupy the Savoia, he did not succeed in obtaining from France the renunciation to the "rectifications of the frontier". He, failing the various attempts, would have even granted them on account of the promise put forward by De Gaulle to stand by Italy in all the other pending questions. It was perhaps De Gasperi’s error — Minister of Foreign Affairs in the III Bonomi government (December 1944-June 1945) —, to have not given due consideration to such promise.

The appeals made by Bonomi at the Yalta conference so that the status of "associate" might be recognized to Italy were not accepted and the same effect had those intended to admit Italy to the conference of San Francisco. There was very little Bonomi could do against the will of the winners. He succeeded, however, in affirming the dignity of the new Italy bringing back the ethical values of politics of which the government of the Country had been deprived for too long.