Consolidating Democracy

Abstract

Abstract This chapter focuses on the consolidation of Christian Democracy between the late 1940s and the late 1960s and on the series of socio-economic reforms that Christian Democrats implemented in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The chapter also examines how after the death of De Gasperi, Amintore Fanfani and Aldo Moro worked to create a party less dependent on the Vatican’s organizational support, moving toward a governmental alliance with the Socialists. Finally, the chapter also deals with the consequences of the Second Vatican Council (1962–5) on Italian politics in general and on Catholic political culture in specific.