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GV EXT Building
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SV Fanfani arriving
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SV Another party official arriving
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GV & CU Fanfani addressing meeting (3 shots)
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Initials BB/1900 AMN/AW/BB/1920



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Italy's political strongman, Signor Amintore Fanfani, was forced to resign as Secretary of the country's dominant Christian Democrat Party on Tuesday (22 July) following a vote of no confidence.

The Christian Democrats' National Council in Rome voted 109-69 to remove Signor Fanfani who has played an important part in Italian politics for twenty years. He yielded to the no-confidence vote and resigned.

The voter followed more than a month of political manoeuvring to oust Signor Fanfani after last month's regional elections in which the Communist Party edged to within two per cent of the long-dominant Christian Democrats' electoral majority.

Signor Fanfani's career at the top of Italian politics included four spells as Prime Minister. He was accused of leading the party recently on a suicide rightist course when electoral opinion was clearly moving left.

The regional election results were widely seen as a protest against Christian Democrat policies under Signor Fanfani. After the elections, he came under mounting pressure to leave ... to make way for new men, new policies and a rejuvenated party machine.

After the volte, the National Council adjourned until Thursday (24 July) to discuss the question of Fanfani's succession. The leading contender is Flaminio Piccoli, the leader of the Christian Democrats in the lower house of the Chamber of Deputies.