ABSTRACT
In 1921 the Socialists had made up the strongest parliamentary group, with several hundreds of thousands of members, and membership of Socialist-led unions ran into millions. Many Maximalist emigres had slowly come to realize that, since the Socialist movement had been the victim of its split, only a united Socialist movement could effectively combat the Fascist dictatorship. The Italian Communist party in exile could therefore no longer perpetuate its hostility towards the Italian Socialists, but had similarly to seek an understanding. The Socialists, surprised by such a drastic shift in Communist policies, found themselves faced with a fail accompli. The Iniziativa Socialista group, however, stood by their demands for an annulment of the pact and a separation from the Communists. The congress met, as the Bulletin of the Socialist International recorded, 'in an atmosphere of fanaticism difficult to describe. The crisis broke when an ordinary congress called by the party executive met in Rome on 19 January 1947.
