Which party led the Italian government after the 1948 election with strong Catholic support?

• A. Socialist Party
• B. Democratic Party
• C. Christian Democrats
• D. Catholic Coalition

Answer: (C)

Strong Catholic support helped build a broad centrist party around Catholic social teaching, which became the leading force in postwar Italy. After the 1948 election, that party led the government, with Alcide De Gasperi serving as prime minister, guiding Italy through the early Cold War era and pursuing social welfare within a democratic, anti-communist framework. The other options don’t fit the historical context: a modern Democratic Party didn’t exist in 1948, a formal Catholic Coalition wasn’t the governing party, and the Socialist Party represented the left rather than the governing administration. So, the party that led the government was the Christian Democrats.