Written by a member of the Central Committee of the Italian Communist Party, this article examines the basic strategic and tactical principles of the Communist Party of Italy, formulated by the Eighth (1956) and Eleventh (1960) Party Congresses, and reviews the development of the Italian labour and democratic movement in recent years. The author comprehensively analyzes the alignment of class forces in Italy, the position of various political parties and the general situation in the country (particularly the "southern question"). The article cites the following statement from the documents of the Eighth Congress of the Communist Party of Italy, which gives a generalized appraisal of this situation: "The entire process of economic and social development in Italy points to the need of a socialist revolution." L. Gruppi points out that two basic questions were of major significance for elaborating the strategy of the Italian Communist Party: What is the connection existing between the anti-monopoly struggle and the task of carrying out a socialist revolution? How is the struggle for a democratic revolution linked with the struggle for a socialist revolution? The author writes that clear answers to these questions were given by the Eighth Congress of the Italian Communist Party. The struggle against the monopolies is the keynote of the entire political line of the Communist Party; it is of decisive importance in removing the chief obstacle from the road to socialism. Examining the question of the struggle for power, L. Gruppi writes that the conquest of political power by the working class and its allies should be regarded as a qualitative leap in a consecutive process, in the course of which the working class does not wait for the hour of the revolution, but carries it out daily, step by step, by achieving a number of democratic aims that are gradually and consistently carried into practical effect, thus contributing to the attainment of socialist aims. ... Read more