Post-war Politics
After the war he was a member of the National Congress and in 1946 was elected to the Constituent Assembly. He was subsequently elected, and repeatedly re-elected, to the Italian Chamber of Deputies on the PCI list and was a member of the party leadership. In 1964, after the death of Palmiro Togliatti, he became secretary of the PCI, declaring that he was "a secretary, not a boss". In this role, he continued Togliatti's line, known as the "Italian road to Socialism", playing down the alliance between the Italian Communist Party and the Soviet Union. He reacted without hostility to the new left movements that sprung up in 1968 and, among the leaders of the PCI, was one of those most disposed to engage with the new activists, although he did not condone their excesses.
Longo was the first to realise the capabilities of Enrico Berlinguer and when in 1972, due to ill health, he resigned the position of party secretary, he supported the choice of Berlinguer as his successor. From that year until his death, eight years later in Rome, he was honorary president of the PCI. In that capacity, he expressed his opposition to the "national solidarity" line the PCI was later to espouse.
Longo was also a prolific writer.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Palmiro Togliatti |
Secretary of the Italian Communist Party 1964–1972 |
Succeeded by Enrico Berlinguer |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Longo, Luigi |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 15 March 1900 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | 16 October 1980 |
| Place of death | |
Read more about this topic: Luigi Longo
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