Spanish-Italian Relations and the Influence of the Major Powers, 1943-1957

305 Pages·2014·0.934 MB·English

by  Pablo Del Hierro Lecea

Spanish-Italian Relations and the Influence of the Major
Powers, 1943–1957
Security, Conflict and Cooperation in the Contemporary World
Edited by Effie G. H. Pedaliu, LSE-Ideas and John W. Young, University of Nottingham
The Palgrave Macmillan series, Security, Conflict and Cooperation in the Contemporary
World aims to make a significant contribution to academic and policy debates on
cooperation, conflict and security since 1900. It evolved from the series Global
Conflict and Security edited by Professor Saki Ruth Dockrill. The current series
welcomes proposals that offer innovative historical perspectives, based on archival
evidence and promoting an empirical understanding of economic and political coop-
eration, conflict and security, peace-making, diplomacy, humanitarian intervention,
nation-building, intelligence, terrorism, the influence of ideology and religion on
international relations, as well as the work of international organisations and non-
governmental organisations.
Series editors
Effie G. H. Pedaliu is Fellow at LSE IDEAS, UK. She is the author of Britain, Italy and
the Origins of the Cold War, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003) and many articles on the Cold
War. She is a member of the peer review college of the Arts and Humanities Research
Council.
John W. Young is Professor of International History at the University of Nottingham,
UK, and Chair of the British International History Group. His recent publications
include Twentieth Century Diplomacy: A Case Study in British Practice, 1963–76 (2008)
and, co-edited with Michael Hopkins and Saul Kelly of The Washington Embassy:
British Ambassadors to the United States, 1939–77 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009).
Titles include:
Pablo Del Hierro Lecea
SPANISH-ITALIAN RELATIONS AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE MAJOR POWERS,
1943–1957
Aaron Donaghy
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT AND THE FALKLAND ISLANDS 1974–79
Martín Abel González and Nigel J. Ashton
THE GENESIS OF THE FALKLANDS (MALVINAS) CONFLICT
Argentina, Britain and the Failed Negotiations of the 1960s
Christopher Baxter, Michael L. Dockrill and Keith Hamilton.
BRITAIN IN GLOBAL POLITICS VOLUME 1
From Gladstone to Churchill
Rui Lopes
WEST GERMANY AND THE PORTUGUESE DICTATORSHIP
Between Cold War and Colonialism
John W. Young, Effie G. H. Pedaliu and Michael D. Kandiah
BRITAIN IN GLOBAL POLITICS VOLUME 2
From Churchill to Blair
Security, Confl ict and Cooperation in the Contemporary World
Series Standing Order ISBN 978–1–137–27284–3 (Hardback)
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Spanish-Italian Relations and
the Influence of the Major
Powers, 1943–1957
Pablo Del Hierro Lecea
Maastricht University, the Netherlands
© Pablo Del Hierro Lecea 2015
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First published 2015 by
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ISBN 978–1–137–44866–8
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Del Hierro Lecea, Pablo, 1981–
Spanish-Italian relations and the influence of the major powers, 1943–1957 /
Pablo Del Hierro Lecea, Maastricht University, Netherlands.
pages cm.—(Security, conflict and cooperation in the contemporary world)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978–1–137–44866–8
1. Spain—Foreign relations—Italy. 2. Italy—Foreign relations—Spain.
3. Spain—Foreign relations—1939–1975. 4. Italy—Foreign relations—
1945–1976. 5. World politics—1945–1955. I. Title.
DP86.I8D45 2014
327.4604509'044—dc23 2014026510
Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India.
To Laura, and to my parents
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
List of Figures and Tables x
Acknowledgements xi
List of Abbreviations xiii
Introduction 1
1 A Question of Pragmatism: Spanish-Italian Relations after
the Collapse of the Mussolini Regime, 1943–1945 16
The impossible choice: the Allies, Germany and Spanish policy
towards the two ‘Italies’ 18
The collapse of the Mussolini regime: a turning point in Spanish
foreign policy? 18
Spain and the two ‘Italies’: the struggle for official recognition 22
The RSI offensive for official recognition 39
The first splits in Anglo-American cooperation: the Allies and
the problem of the Italian fleet in the Spanish ports 42
Genesis of the problem 42
Ideology or national interests? Spanish foreign policy towards the
two Italies 47
Navigating the Anglo-American differences: the agreement between
Spain and the Allies 53
The Kingdom of Italy’s diplomatic offensive 60
A present for Ambassador Hayes: the release of the Italian warships 64
Conclusions 66
2 Allies in the Post-war Era? Spanish-Italian Relations and
the Major Powers, 1945–1947 69
Towards normalization: the negotiation of the war debt and
the Commercial Treaty of 1946 71
The long road towards the normalization of relations: the war
debt and the resumption of commercial exchanges 71
The negotiations for the signing of the Commercial Treaty 88
The Commercial Treaty: a political treaty 91
The consolidation of Spanish-Italian relations after the
signing of the Commercial Treaty 97
1946: a year of consolidation 97
The appointment of Nenni as Minister of Foreign Affairs 103
vii
viii Contents
The UN resolution and the withdrawal of the Italian Ambassador:
life remains the same 110
Conclusions 115
3 Towards the Cold War: Spanish-Italian Relations and
the Rising Tensions between the Western Allies and
the Soviet Union 119
Spain, Italy and the Marshall Plan: the deterioration of
bilateral relations 121
Italy and the possible inclusion of Spain in the Marshall Plan 121
Spanish exclusion from the ERP 129
The impact of Spanish exclusion from the ERP in bilateral
relations 131
A counterproductive strategy: Spanish-Italian attempts
to improve bilateral relations after the 1948 elections 137
The economic approach 137
Spanish attempts at diplomatic normalization 141
Conclusions 144
4 1949: A Year of Important Approaches 146
Small steps: the limitations of the first attempts to improve
bilateral relations 147
Negotiating a new commercial agreement 147
Giulio Andreotti visits Spain 151
The commercial negotiations 159
The Brusasca–Aldisio mission: another Spanish attempt to
normalize relations with Italy 161
A light at the end of the tunnel: the first accomplishments 167
The Commercial Treaty 167
Martín Artajo’s trip to Rome 172
Conclusions 179
5 A ‘Flirt’ between Madrid and Rome: The Spanish-Italian
Rapprochement and the Role of the Western Powers,
1951–1955 182
The return of the ambassador and the normalization of
diplomatic relations 184
The long path towards normalization 184
Taliani’s arrival in Madrid: a new phase in Spanish-Italian relations? 189
De Gasperi’s visit to Washington: a new phase in bilateral
relations? 192
The rapprochement in Spanish-Italian relations 201
Setting the ground for industrial cooperation: Merzagora’s trip to
Spain in 1952 201
Cooperation in the industrial field 207
The Italian elections and the end of the De Gasperi era 212
Contents ix
The second step: military cooperation 223
The third step: the Cultural Treaty 231
Conclusions 236
6 The Limits of Rapprochement: In Search of Political
Cooperation, 1955–1957 239
The impossible political partnership 240
‘Relaciones a media caldera’: Spain takes the initiative 240
The Mediterranean Pact 242
‘A gentleman’s club’? Spain, Italy and NATO 247
Conclusions 254
Conclusions 256
Bibliography 274
Index 284