The Radical Party convenes an extraordinary congress, inviting the forces of the traditional and the extra-parliamen- tary left to participate in the launching of a campaign to get signatures for the referendums. The appeal is accepted, in particular by the more representative extra-parliamentary groups, who declare their adherence and commitment to the success of the project, whereas the commitment of individuals and groups from the democrats in Parliament allow for the creation of a "National Committee for an Authentically Constitutional Republic" to support the initiative and to guarantee the meaning of its support to Parliament.

The Congress also creates a special committee to investigate the possibilities of establishing a Radical daily newspaper, beginning with a national subscription campaign. (The daily, "Liberation", will appear a few months later and will be of great importance in the course of the referendum on divorce.)

The XIIth Congress (Extraordinary) of the Party, held in Rome on July 7,8, 1973, unanimously confirmed at the conclusion of its work, the objectives established at the previous Congress in Turin to convene a series of abrogatory referendums.

The Congress, made vital and rich by the contributions of activists from all over Italy, had at its disposal two new factors that enabled it to confirm this objective despite serious difficulties and accumulated delays: on the one hand there was the adhesion to the Radical project of all the major extra-parliamen- tary groups (Manifesto, Lotta continua, Avanguardia operaio, pc-ml-I) and of the left wing of the PRI; on the other hand there was the availability of comrades from other regional PR groups to spend more or less time in Rome from now until November to help with the work of organising on a national level.

These two facts, besides the convergence of opinion on the seriousness of the political situation, which daily confirm the exactitude of the information and the analyses contained in the Turin motion, allowed the Rome Congress to register an inversion of tendency in the situation that had been created and had originally been the reason for convening the Congress. Giacomo Mancini sent a message of greetings to the Congress containing expressions that we considered encouraging for our political project. Also participating in the Congress were the hon. Vincenzo Balsamo, director of the civil rights section of the PSI for the "Presenza Socialista" faction, and Fabrizio Cicchito for that party's left wing. Even if these two factions did not adhere officially, their participation can be interpreted as a sign of the possibility for collaboration with ample Socialist sectors and not only grass roots ones. Comrade Pietro Valpreda also offered his solidarity and participation.

On the operative level the Congress took two decisions:

1) the creation of a managing committee for the referendums that will work alongside the national secretariat and the party's other organs;

2) a mandate was given to another committee to set up as soon as possible, preferably by September, a Radical daily paper. The committee is composed of comrades Pannella, Randinelli, Massimo and Maria Adele Teodori, Gianfranco Spadaccia, Torelli and Stanzini. As a working hypothesis, the Congress accepted that suggested by Marco Pannella to propose to "Lotta Continua" the insertion of two pages of "Notizie Radicali" daily in order to resolve temporarily and initially at least the the most difficult problems of a plant, printing and distribution. To meet the necessary financing, it was decided to open a national subscription campaign that would not interfere, or at least as little as possible, with the ordinary financing problems of the party's treasury.

The extraordinary congress in Rome thus gave a positive answer to the credibility of the proposed alternative project made by the party in November, as well as to its necessity at a time when the signs are multiplying of the serious and accelerating involution of the regime even beyond what we had judged and foreseen. A strong convergence of groups, both "constitutional" and "extra- parliamentarian", has substantially adopted our proposal as their own so that it is becoming ever more a battle plan for the entire left and all those who are fighting for a profound renewal and a true "inversion of tendency". Now it is up to the party, first of all, and to its activists, its supporters and the friends and comrades of the various civil rights leagues, to overcome the enormous difficulties that have been and will continue to be thrown in their paths, by making an exceptional effort of the coming weeks and months.