Il garantismo del Partito socialista italiano negli anni del terrorismo: un altro capitolo del «duello a sinistra»?

In the framework of the political and public debate on the much-discussed Italian counter-terrorism legislation (in particular, the so-called “Moro decree”, “Cossiga Law” and “Law on repented”), the paper analyses the little studied position of Italian Socialist Party towards terrorism and the initiatives to combat the subversive phenomenon, between 1978 and 1982. Through the reconstruction of the role played by Italian Socialist Party in the debate on the measures, in the course of kidnapping of Moro and D'Urso, during the referendum to abrogate laws on public order, the analysis highlights the main issues in the discussion of governing bodies, the internal controversies if any and the positions officially adopted in the press and in Parliament. The paper takes into consideration the “gurantist” and libertarian tradition of the party, the role played by Craxi as secretary, as well as the position of Psi in respect to governments (from “national solidarity" to “pentaparty government”) and the relationship with the Communist Party. Indeed the worsening relations between Psi and the Communists offer a key of interpretation in the perspective of the “duel” within the Left. For the research, parliamentary sources have been intertwined with documents of personal and Psi archives and party press.