Berlinguer declared himself opposed to Italy’s withdrawal from NATO. On June 15, 1976, the Corriere della Sera published an interview with Enrico Berlinguer by Giampaolo Pansa in which the PCI secretary argued that it would be better for his party and for Italy to remain under the NATO umbrella. “I feel safer here,” Berlinguer said. It was a radical shift and a clear choice of sides, certainly courageous, given the times and the PCI’s (Italian Communist Party) ties to Moscow.
